The Unsung Hero of Hogwartz
by klemaire
Summary: This story is about a boy named Michael Morgan. Lord Voldemort left a mark in his past and through his first year at Hogwartz, he becomes the fourth friend in the Harry Potter circle. Unknowingly, he is able to relate to Harry's situation, having lost someone to Voldemort and given a scar of his own. Harry and Michael form a bond, and have to defeat Voldemort on their own.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

(Just a side note, any informality, or any mistakes feel free to comment on them. Nobody is perfect, so I'll take any advice. THIS IS A RENDITION TO THE FIRST HARRY POTTER STORY, SO BY ALL MEANS I DO NOT OWN THE ORIGINAL STORY. THIS IS JUST MY OWN CLEVER STORY COMBINED WITH THE INCREDIBLE J.K. ROWLING'S BOOK. this is not any character in her story, I thought him up and he does not actually have any role in the actual stories. thanks to the advice of a reviewer, I found it wise to mention this. Reviews are welcome, so feel free. Also, if you are interested i am writing another story so if you like this, just stay patient. More on the other book on the last chapter of this one!)

It was a cold, winter evening outside the house of Kevin and Rebecca Morgan. The clouds were starting to form drops of snow and scatter down to the ground. Rebecca had just awoken to the crying sounds of her recently new born child, unknowingly as to why the new born was hysterical. As she rose from her side of the bed, her husband Kevin moaned and rolled over, moving his arm from around Rebecca's waste where it had previously been over to his side of the bed, allowing it to hang off the edge of the bed. Rebecca giggled to herself as she witnessed the slight change in her husband's sleeping form. It wasn't the first time the new born had awoken in the middle of the night and Kevin had had to readjust himself while Rebecca checked on the baby. Most of the first nights the newborn was allowed to be home, Kevin was actually afraid of leaving the baby out of his sight. He even fell asleep kneeling next to the baby's crib, which Rebecca was only able to notice when she came back from making a cup of coffee for each of them; neither wanting to sleep but both desperately needing some.

However, Rebecca's maternal instincts had started to kick in early in the relationship with the newborn and she started letting Kevin get the benefit of the doubt and was permitted the early nights to rest, seeing that he would be the one to wake up early in order to leave for work while she would be the one to stay home with the baby. Normally, Rebecca would only get a few hours of sleep but recently the new born has been sleeping rather well, only waking up once or twice during the nights rather than the original four or five. Tonight, the new born was having what sounded like the worst tantrum so far. She tiptoed to the door and slightly opened the door enough to just slip through. She continued to tiptoe across the hall towards the room where the newborn was having its fit. However, what Rebecca found when she entered the room was nothing compared to what she had expected.

Rebecca's scream awoke Kevin like the sound of an evacuation alarm signaling a nuclear strike on its way. Kevin took no hesitation in jumping out of his bed and running to the room where the screams had come from. Nothing, however, could have prepared him for the sight he was about to witness. Everything in the newborn's room was thrashed everywhere, almost as if his jump out of bed had been because of a nuclear strike. Book's Rebecca specifically placed on the bookshelf which she use to read to her newborn late into the night when she had trouble sleeping were sprawled from the bottom of the wood shelf all the way to the window on the other side of the room. The stuffed animals that Rebecca recently bought were torn and trashed with their insides all over the floor. The baby's crib lay on its side, with the new born baby still screaming and thrashing his hands all around in complete terror. What caught Kevin's eye was the sight of his wife, motionless on the floor. Kevin rushed to her side without a moment's hesitation, checking her pulse and attempting to bring his wife back to his world.

Kevin broke down immediately once the realization of what had happened clicked. He snatched up his new born and called the police. After the police arrived and handled their business, they concluded that his wife suffered from some type of stress induced heart attack, which could have been contributed from his wife's continual stress from the baby. But Kevin knew much better, he knew his wife was in close-to-perfect health. He knew his wife seemed less stressed with this baby than she did during their wedding, and even less stressed with the wedding than she was first introducing Kevin to her parents. No, a "stress induced heart attack" was just the police's clever way of saying "we haven't a damned clue". There was absolutely no explanation to what had happened, with everything thrashed about the room, and with his new born completely unharmed, he was not only baffled but completely distraught. The loss of one's wife is something people cannot imagine; it is something even Kevin wasn't able to put in words. He had lost everything that he planned on creating a future with. He lost his last 7 years of his life, his new family- and most importantly, his wife. There was nothing in the world that could possibly make this missing feeling from his life change: nothing other than the new born baby left in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The boy awoke from a tragic nightmare to which a young woman had come running into the bedroom of her screaming child. He was seeing the nightmare from the view of the boy, unable to do anything to change the situation that was occurring. In the nightmare, the vision was foggy, with only the view of the floor leading to his mother in sight, with a circular cloud of what he interpreted as mist around the image of the woman. Then, someone else came into view. The figure was tall, hooded in order to hide his identity, and quickly reached into his robes to reveal a wand. The hooded figure then spoke in what the boy guessed to be a different language, and then the mother screamed just before the figure finished his speech. Once his quick words were over, the mother dropped instantaneously, and lay motionless on the floor. Immediately after the mother hit the ground, the figure turned towards the boy, pointed his wand at his and a bright light burned the vision of the nightmare. The boy woke in an instant, pain surging through his body. He was covered in sweat, gasping for every breath that he took, trying to calm himself down after realizing he was safe.

Just then his father burst into the room.

"Jesus Michael, are you okay? I could hear you screaming all the way from the bloody basement!"

Michael looked up at him still gasping for air, "Just a…. nightmare dad. Terribly awful nightmare too."

His father walked over to his bed and sat on the edge, embracing his son and trying to calm him down.

"It was just a nightmare son. Everybody has 'em, even your father. What'd you see, son?"

"I saw… I don't know what I saw. I was on the ground, I couldn't talk or anything. All of a sudden a woman ran into the room and a figure just… appeared out of nowhere. He killed her and then I woke up and I couldn't contain myself, I had to scream." Michael felt his eyes start to water, and he could see his father saw the fear in his son.

"Look at me Michael. There's nothing to be afraid of, I'm right here and you're safe." His father looked down, and Michael could have sworn he saw his father's eyes begin to water too.

Michael could feel that something was off. He gathered the courage that was left in him to confront his father. He knew there was something that his father wasn't telling him, as if this was more than just a dream to his son. "There's more to this isn't there? Come on Dad I know that face, and you're practically as upset as I am. What's going on?"

His father immediately looked up at his son, his face distraught by the cunning instincts of his son. "You can read me like a book can't you? Just like your bloody mother, you are." Michael couldn't help but let out a faint laugh and smile. "Alright, I 'spose you have a right to know what really happened the night your mother died." He paused, took a deep breath, and continued on. "Your mother and I had both gone to bed, you started screaming and crying and your mother had gotten up to go check on you. Your mother screamed and I ran into your room."

His father's eyes were now soaked, clearly on the verge of tears. His voice had become crackled and quietly, which Michael took as a sign that his father's throat must have been tightening up, making it harder for his to get out these next words. He stuttered and couldn't keep eye contact with Michael, but at last he let the secret out.

"I ran into your room to find your mother on the ground. When I looked up, I saw what looked like a wizard. I reached for my wand but it was too late, he transformed into something and blew through the window. I… I ran over to you and picked you up and called the police. Then the Magical Administration. That wasn't just a nightmare Michael, that was from the night your mother was..." At that, his father couldn't finish his sentence, and Michael knew all too well what the next words were about to be: murdered.

"So this scar, it wasn't from some car accident was it? It was that night, from the person who killed mum." Michael already knew the answer, but he didn't bother to interrupt his father.

"Yes, marks like that aren't common Michael. Those are the types of marks that form from very dangerous, harsh, sometimes even tormental curses. The only type of people who use those curses, are the ones who end up in Azkaban. That night, your mother was murdered by He Who Must Not Be Named." Kevin stared at his son, wondering what was running through his brain as he tried to process years of his life he was told a lie. He felt ashamed, distraught at the fact that he had told his son such a terrible lie, believing it was in his best interest to keep that from him to protect him. He felt outraged because his son didn't deserve what was taken from him, and neither did he.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

That night Michael had a hard time falling back asleep. It's not every day you get a peek into your past and witness the murdering of your beloved mother. He couldn't stand to sit in his room any longer, and he put on some clothes and made for the door. His father was fast asleep on the couch, apparently he had a rough time sleeping too, except he must have dosed off while he was trying to think things over. Michael tiptoed to the door, cracked it open and slipped his lean body through it, then cracked it closed again. He knew exactly where he was going; all he was hoping was that she would be awake.

Over the years, Michael had grown close with a girl at the end of his street. Her name was Miranda, and they had met a few years back when Michael was riding his bike around the neighborhood. Michael hit a pothole and flipped over his handlebars and landed flat on his back. Miranda came running from her yard when she heard the crash only to find the boy motionless on the ground. She knelt down and poked and kept screaming if he was okay, until finally the boy came to consciousness. Since that day, they had continued to grow close, and whenever one needed the other, they were always there.

Michael knew this routine all too well: he had to slip over their low-leveled dog gate around the yard, sneak through the bushes to get to the window, and then tap with his finger three times in order to get the attention of Miranda. Miranda was a light sleeper, so she was awake at the first knock. However, they set up a three system knock in order to be sure they weren't hearing things. When she heard the last knock, she immediately ran towards the window and whipped it open. Miranda knew Michael only came at this time of night if something was very wrong.

Michael slipped in the window, closed it behind him and sat down next to her bed. Miranda climbed back into bed, lay down on her side and supported her head with her hand, waiting for him to speak.

"Something happened tonight. Something I can't explain." He looked scared, almost out-of-place in Miranda's eyes. She moved to the edge of her bed and leg her feet hang off the sides, waiting for him to tell her more. "I know what happened to my mom. What really happened. And I can't tell you everything, but all I can say was that she was murdered."

Miranda gasped and threw both her hands over her mouth. Was he crazy?! His mother had died in a car accident, she wasn't murdered. What was possibly going on in his head tonight? She had to do something. "Michael, we both know that isn't true. Your mother died in an accident." Miranda attempted to place a caring hand on his shoulder, but he stood up right before she could try to comfort him.

"Please, don't talk to me like I'm loony. I know what happened, in fact, I even saw what happened. Bloody hell, my mother was murdered and you're sitting there accusing me of being a liar, like my father!" His temper was rising, and she knew she had to quiet him before her parents would be woken up.

"Michael, please, relax. I believe you just come sit down." She held her hand out for him to take and let him sit next to her. What he did next surprised the both of them, he couldn't relax, he needed to get this out of his system. Like a bubble about to burst, Michael was trying so hard to fight what was about to happen.

Out of nowhere, the windows burst out and shattered into pieces. Miranda screamed and jumped back as the pieces fell all over her desk underneath the window. Her dresser collapsed along with all her belongings on top of it. A small mirror, a jewelry box, a make-up kit, and a lamp all scattered across her floor. Michael stood in horror at what had happened, or what he had made happen. Then, as if time had been a movie and the owner pressed the rewind switch, everything had been put back into place, perfectly. Miranda sat on her bed, eye's wider than a raccoon's, at the events that had just transpired. "Get out of my bedroom right now!"

Michael stood frozen in place: he was in as much shock as Miranda was. He knew he had powers, magical powers, because of his parents, but nothing like this had ever happened to him before. Then Miranda's scream of "Now" brought Michael back into reality as he quickly slipped out the window. As he walked back towards his house, he also noticed that Miranda's parents weren't coming to check on what had just happened. Had no one else heard what had just occurred? Surely Miranda and Michael were not the only two people on the street who could have heard that, any person in their right mind would have been woken up by the loud snap and cracking of those window glasses, the crashing of the dresser. If that somehow didn't do the trick, surely Miranda's screams would have. Something didn't make sense, but now all Michael was worried about was putting this night in his past.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The sun had been up for hours now when Michael finally awoke after the night he had had. After his nightmare, or vision; to which it truly was he didn't care. In a sense, it was both a nightmare and a vision. A peek into his past, while also the truth to the murder of his mother. He was lied to, he was hurt, and most of all, he was angry. He was angry that he had this happen to him, that his future had been snatched out of his life in the blink of an eye. Angry that his father had to keep this from him, even though deep down he knew this was the best thing for him. He was never ready to face this truth, but he felt now was the best time for his father to have done it, and to that he had to displace some of his anger to other factors. He had no idea what had happened at Miranda's house last night either, and that was second on his list, only behind the vision. He was able to crack her glass windows and destroy her dresser without even using a wand. Being underage, Michael wasn't allowed to even own a wand. Then, mysteriously, everything was put back into place and no one had heard any racket; as if nothing ever happened. After looking at his clock to see that it was nearly noon, he decided it was time to get up out of bed and start his first day of summer.

His father was already up, sitting on the couch by the time Michael decided to come downstairs. At the sound of his feet on the bottom step, he watched his father stand up immediately and turn to face his son. He noticed the tension between his father and him, and he did his best to ease that. "Sheesh relax dad, you look like you're expecting Mr. Flinch to walk in and try to hex you like he did the last guy at your work that he fired." His father relaxed noticeably, as his shoulders were less tensed and stooped down a bit, and his posture became somewhat close to normal.

"Look, I'm sorry. I know what you're probably thinking about me as a father right now and I just thought that it was best to wait until I thought you were ready to hear what really happened and…"

Michael cut his father off when he heard where the conversation was going. "Dad, really. I just needed the night to think about things. Yeah, I was absolutely bonkers when you first told me, not only upset about what I saw but what I heard too. But you aren't perfect; neither am I. I wasn't ready, at least not until last night. So for that, you don't have to say anything."

His father relaxed even more at that. "And honestly dad, you really aren't very good at the whole "pretend to be mom" thing. You go on and on about all this random stuff, and sometimes honestly it doesn't even make any sense. At least mom would have been able to tell you to shush when you were rambling." Michael said teasingly at his father, and threw a sarcastic smile at him to help rid of any other tension in the room.

His father laughed and rolled his eyes. "Oh shut up. You really do have your mother's sarcasm, that's for bloody sure!" The two exchanged laughs and then both proceeded to the backyard to sit on the patio area. The area to the patio was enclosed with a sliding glass door entrance, while the patio itself was made of a grayish tile that had been worn from a few years of being outside. The tiles were diamond shaped and laid out in a pattern on the ground. Michael and his father took seats at the circular table to the right of the glass door, and continued their conversation.

Out of nowhere, there was a loud pop and Michael nearly fell off his chair. When he looked up he saw his father merely laughing at his son, while his son looked in utter confusion at what was standing next to his father.

"Good afternoon Mr. Kevin and Michael Edwards. Now Mr. Kevin Edwards, I'm sure you know why I am here, as for you, Mr. Michael Edwards, well this is going to be one the finest moments of your brief life, I dare say." Whatever was standing next to his father, Michael was certainly aware that it was definitely here for him.

His father could see the confusion and surprise in his son's face, "Michael this is part of Professor Arlington Fernsby. I'm sure you haven't a clue as to _what_ he is or _why_ he is here, so I'll give him the pleasure of explaining everything." At that, his father stood, opened the sliding door, and left Michael alone with _part _of Professor Fernsby.

"Hello Michael. As you have just been told I am only a part of Professor Arlington Fernsby. I teach at Hogwartz School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As I am sure you know, you have been born with a rather rare, but special gift. And that is the ability to use magic. Your mother and father both attended Hogwartz, and I am here to inform you that you have been accepted as a student here for the upcoming year. Here is your acceptance letter, and here is a required list of what you will need if you decide to attend." Professor Fernsby turned at once and was about to leave when Michael spoke out without thinking "Wait what are you!"

Professor Fernsby quickly turned and took three steps towards Michael until he was standing just in front of him. Michael noticed that he had a bit of a waddle when he walked, almost like a penguin. Michael was close enough now to get a good enough image of what was standing in front of him. It looked like a doll, made of what looked like wood and smelled like clay. "I am what you would call a Golem. I am an extension of my creator's will, and I do what he asks of me. Professor Fernsby created me because he does not like to leave the premises of the school. Because of the recent events, your letter was asked to be hand delivered by the Headmaster while he works his magic at the ministry in order to overturn your underage wizardry charges, so to speak. We were short on owls to deliver the letter, so I had my Golem here take care of things."

Michael looked absolutely distraught. He had no idea what was happening right now, besides the fact that he had been accepted to a school of magic. He had known he would have this moment eventually, but he expected it to be a bit more… normal, like a letter in the mail for instance. Nothing like a wooden doll literally popping out of nowhere and handing him the letter. Just as Michael was processing all this, the Golem of Professor Fernsby began speaking again.

"As I am sure you are wondering why we do this, it is simple to explain. We do not send letters like the muggle folks do. Of course, the magical community has their own delivery system, but in no means is it as complex as theirs. The Headmaster would normally send letters by owl, but you were lucky enough to have these services instead. Also, not many students are chosen to be accepted to Hogwartz, so you should feel proud." At this Michael became curious, and without thinking he interrupted.

"Why exactly was I chosen?" The Golem stood, without emotion, and studied the boy in front of him.

"Yes, I suppose you would be curious as to why you were one of the few selected. As I stated before, Arundel is one of the most prestigious magical institutes for the young wizarding world. You have been chosen because of the recent events that transpired last night. You had what we call in the wizard world a _memorato_. Non-Magical beings might describe it as a "vision" or a "psycic reading" but us magical folks know better than to be so feebleminded about such an important matter. Also, you were able to do wandless magic, although uncontrolled, at the age of 11. Even more incredibly at your age, you were able to unknowingly refurbish everything you destroyed, as well as place a silencing barrier around your perimeter. Along with the consideration of your parents attending, it only makes sense to choose you. I dare say you might become a very powerful wizard with the right training young man, and that is why the Headmaster has chosen you. "

The Golem turned again to leave, and this time, Michael was too deep in thought to even hear the loud pop that came from it leaving. He only realized it was gone when his father came back out to join him. His father didn't have to say a word to know what was going through his son's mind. After all, he'd experience almost the same thing when he got his acceptance letter, and it was even more shocking because he didn't come from a magical family. Out of nowhere, Michael caught his father off guard and spoke.

"I'm going to be a wizard, Dad."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Michael had never been more excited in his entire life. Even though his father expected this day to come, Michael knew all too well that it was still a shocking moment. It is one thing to grow up with the privileges and mysterious wonders of magic, but it is another to be able to wield that ability. Michael grew up with a wizard for a father, and that was enough for him to know even the slightest abilities that magic could have an effect on. He wasn't just going to in the presence of a wizard, but he was actually going to become one! He was going to Hogwartz: the finest school of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and he was going to make sure he made his mother proud.

Over the next two weeks, Michael made it a habit to read, re-read, and then read again his list of required materials for the start of his first year at Hogwartz. It was no surprise to his father when he came home every day to see his son (whether in the living room, outside on the porch, or even in the kitchen sitting on the stool) reading the list over and over again. He wasn't surprised; hell, he knew the feeling better than anyone. After growing up with a family of muggles, calling it a surprise would be an understatement. Kevin spend every waking minute studying that requirement list, and seeing his son do the same only drew a smile to his face.

It was a Wednesday afternoon when Kevin opened the door to his house to find, as he expected, his son reading the list again. Smiling to himself, he closed the door behind him and put his briefcase on the ground. He slipped off his shoes, put them next to his briefcase, and walked over to sit with his son in the kitchen. His son merely nodded at his father, not speaking a word or removing his eyes from the paper, too deep in thought to be removed from it.

He sat down on the stool across from Michael. The counter was made of a granite top, with four stools surrounding it: two on either side. The counter was situated directly in the middle of the kitchen, straight across from the door. Kevin took an apple from the fruit bin in the middle of the counter, and before taking a bite decided to tell Michael his plans. "So I was thinking that we could go to Diagon Alley tomorrow so that it'll be less of a crowd. It's getting rather close to start of term, and they gave me the day off tomorrow, so… whattaya say?"

Michael finally removed his eyes, revealing a smile that was as wide as could be. "That sounds good dad. But there is one thing I have to ask you?"

Puzzled, Kevin's eyebrows raised in curiosity. "Uhm… okay. And what is that?"

"The first thing I want to get on this list" he paused slightly, "is my wand. Not to sound picky or anything, because I'm actually really excited to buy everything on the list, even the stupid ink for my quill. But I guess you could say the thing I'm looking forward to the most is getting my very own wand that I can call my own. It's what gives almost every wizard their power, their abilities: I don't know… I'd just like to get that first." Michael sounded more demanding than questioning, and his father wasn't going to argue there. The wand to a witch or wizard helps them channel their magic and helps her or him to centralize their magical abilities. Only extremely powerful witches and wizards are capable of wandless magic, but even they can't completely control that ability.

Kevin took a bite out of his apple, chewed, and then replied to Michael who was sitting across anxious for his father's answer. "That sounds fine with me. Be up by 8, I want to have an early start to the day. Trust me, even on week days Diagon Alley isn't exactly easy to maneuver."

The next morning couldn't have come any slower for Michael, who had a tough night sleeping because of all the excitement running through his veins. Even through the past few weeks, nothing could have compared to the feeling he had now. By the time 8 o'clock rolled around, he was dressed and ready to leave while his father was just finishing his cup of tea. Kevin decided that he would rather just get there as quickly as possible than take their time, he was about to introduce to his son his first piece of magic.

"Since I don't feel like taking the car, we're going to get there by another means. This is going to be your first experience with fluu powder, Michael and this is another way that wizards and witches can travel. Now stand in the fireplace." Michael looked at his father like he was crazy, what the hell was he saying 'stand in the fireplace': because that's a brilliant idea. But, without arguing, he took his step into the fireplace, dragging his doubts with him. His father grabbed a jar from the stone shelf above the fireplace and removed the lid to reveal black powder.

"This is called fluu powder Michael, and I don't expect you to know what it is, because I've never really let you use this. But, since you're about to go to Hogwartz, I suppose it's time to stop treating you like a little boy and help bring you up to speed on some magic. Anyways, take a handful of powder and hold it out with your hand. Now, make sure that you state exactly where you want to go and be sure to be extremely mindful of what you say. You need to be very, very clear of where you're going or else you could end up some place you don't want to be. Okay, so before you throw the powder onto the fireplace, make sure you say 'Diagon Alley'. It's as simple as that!"

Simple wasn't exactly how Michael would describe his first experience of travelling with fluu powder. Trying to muster up as much courage as he could, he took a deep breathe, closed his eyes and as he raised his arm to throw the powder down on the fireplace, yelled "DIAGON ALLEY!" He felt as if his body were twisted tight like a clown at the circus twists balloons, and then felt his body untwisting and before he knew it he felt his feet hit the ground. He was standing, where that was he didn't know because he still had his eyes shut. He could hear voices all around him, footsteps hurriedly travelling past him. He heard a _pop _behind him and then a hand touched his shoulder. He knew it was his father's hand, which means he must have been in…

"Welcome to Diagon Alley Michael."

He opened his eyes, and then his jaw dropped faster than lighting striking the earth. Buildings on both sides of the street stretched down for as far as he could see. Wizards and witches in their robes were jostling hurriedly past others, some wearing pointy-black hats while others were sporting more modern caps, with lower points that reminded Michael of what muggle businessmen would call a fedora. He noticed shops like _Broomstixs_ which sold the best and newest broomsticks on the market, _Eeylops Owl Emporium_ which was the finest owl shop in all of Great Britain, _Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasion, _and _Ollivander's Wandshop. _Without any hesitation, Michael thrashed past his father and nearly ran into Ollivander's. Finally, the moment he had been waiting for since the day he saw his father's wand. His biggest dream was about to come true, and even though he felt silly to consider this such a dream because it was nearly destined to happen, it was still his most important dream.

A bell rang as Michael opened the door, and he slowly approached the counter in front of him. His father opened the door, then said, "I'm gonna start on some of the things on your list so here's some Galleons for your wand. I'll just be at the book store down the street when you're done" and left Michael to the wonders of Ollivander's. Out of a hallway to the right of Michael, Mr. Ollivander walked at a steady pace until he saw Michael waiting at the counter. "Ah hello, hello. And who might you be?" he asked as he stared at the boy, waiting for his reply.

"My… my name's Michael, sir. Michael Morgan." Michael took a step back from the counter, a little on edge from Mr. Ollivander, not knowing what to expect from the wandmaker.

"Getting all your things for your first year? Which I presume means you need a wand!" Immediately Mr. Ollivander began sorting through various small, rectangular boxes as he searched for a wand to have Michael test. He paused as he examined the tag on the box he had just picked up, and then brought it over to Michael. "This wand is made of holly wood, with a unicorn hair as its core. Could become a very powerful wand, if it chooses the right wizard of course." Michael stood and stared at the wand, then wondering what Ollivander had meant, asked "What do you mean, 'chooses the right wizard'?"

Mr. Ollivander gave a smirk at the boy, and then replied to his question. "I get that question a lot, and not just from younglings like you. The wand chooses whatever wizard it believes to be its best partner. We wandmakers aren't sure as to why that is, but we do know that it is certain. Let's try a different wand, eh?" He snatched the wand from Michael's hands and then was back to rustling through his wands. He grabbed what seemed like dozens of boxes, until he paused, turned and looked at the boy, then went to the back wall in the hallway, grabbed his latter, and traveled to the middle of the shelves of wands. He picked up a goldish box with a hint of red, and then gave a curious stare at the boy again. Once he had returned he walked around the counter, knelt down so he was eye-level with the boy, then opened the box to reveal the wand. The wand, in Michael's eyes, had a glow to it. Even though the wood was black, the edges of it looked to him like it was glowing: he couldn't help his eyes from widening at the sight. He slowly reached for the wand and felt a tingling sensation the moment he touched it. Once he had the wand fully in his grasp, he felt as though a part of him that was missing had finally found its way back to him. He felt like he could tackle a dragon, even though he knew the odds of that were not nearly well-enough in his favor. He kept gazing at the wand still in his hands, and Mr. Ollivander was the first to break the silence.

"Ebony wood, which gives it the beautiful black finish. The core: made of phoenix feathers. That there is a very powerful wand, Mr. Morgan, and it can be easily said that you have a bright future ahead of you. This is the last ebony, phoenix wand combination in existence. The current ebony woods of today's generation aren't strong enough to handle the core powers from the phoenix feather, but this wand is honestly one-of-a-kind. No one knows where it originates from, and all I know of this wand is that it has been pasted down between my families for years. And for years we have tried to find a match for it, and no one was successful… not until now. It's most intriguing why it chose you, Mr. Morgan. Ebony wands are happiest, when they are in the hands of those who aren't afraid to be themselves while phoenix feathers are one of the rarest core types as well as the most powerful cores. Sometimes, they even act on their own, when in danger or in a situation that could harm its owner. Because phoenixes are very independent animals, it's extremely hard to earn the allegiance of the phoenix feather. This shines light on your character, or at least your character of the future. Wands are tough things to understand, but once they make a choice, there is always a reason behind it."

Michael didn't know what to say to this. Was he really going to be this powerful, or was Mr. Ollivander just building up a storm that was never going to come? Was this wand really this rare to come by? Most importantly, why had it chosen _him?_ He payed Mr. Ollivander with the money his father had given him, then left Mr. Ollivander's shop, lost in his thoughts.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

By around 3 o'clock, Michael and his father had purchased everything on his list for Hogwarts, everything except his animal: which had to be an owl, a cat, or a toad. He thought a toad would be pathetic to have at school, and he didn't much fancy cats, so he decided that an owl was going to be his best bet. Plus, it would only make it that much easier for him when it came to mailing things to his father. His father decided to fluu back to the house and drop off all his things before heading back to Diagon Alley, so Michael decided to just meet his father in _Eeylop's Owl Emporium_ and get a headstart on choosing an owl. He pushed open the door, only to be greeted by dozens of owls hooting at the new customer; whether they were trying to get his attention in order to be purchased or they were trying to get him out Michael couldn't tell. The shop was set up similar to Ollivanders, the entrance was directly across from the front counter, but what made this different than Ollivanders was that there were four hallways that were all vertical with the front counter, which gave Michael the impression that it was okay to wander around the shop.

He decided to start from the right and work his way around the shop. As he began to look at the owls in the aisle, a boy and his mother came into the shop, both in a heated argument with one another. The boy had slicked back blonde hair as bright as his mothers, with the say stone-gray eyes that his mother had as well. His mother looked as though she had been arguing with her son all afternoon, with her exhausted face every time her son snapped back at her, along with the pierced lips that showed she was annoyed with his attitude.

"Fine, mum, you don't have to get it for me! I'll just ask father for a new broom instead."

The mother rolled her eyes at this statement, clearly use to her son using his father as a threat to get what he wanted. His mother noticed Michael was looking over at them, so he quickly turned his gaze back to the owls. "Go have a look around and decide on whatever one you'd like, I'll be waiting outside." The mother left, and the blonde-haired boy named Draco decided to start his search in the same aisle as Michael was in. Michael continued to the next aisle and paused at the sight of the first owl that actually caught his eye. The owl was asleep at the moment, but her beauty was undeniable. The owl had white feathers with brown scattered throughout, almost like a mixture of snow on a barren tree. It had a small yellow-tinted beak that didn't protrude out from the owls head too far. It must have sensed that it was being admired, because it opened its eyes and studied Michael, as he studied the owl. He noticed, now, that the owl's eyes were wide. Its pupils took up most of the space but left a small amount of room for yellow hinted circles around the pupil's. Draco rounded the corner and bumped into Michael, obviously not paying attention to where he was going. "Watch it you bloody idiot." Draco thrust his arm out in front of Michael then pushed him to the side as he continued his search for an owl. Michael casted him a dirty look, then continued his gaze on the owl. The owl moved its body forward a bit, enough so Michael could pet it. Michael slowly reached his hand forward to pet the owl, and once the owl saw his hand moving forward, she bowed her head slightly and allowed him to touch her.

The door opened and Michael's father had reappeared. He saw Michael in the second aisle and walked over to his side. He bent over to look at the owl, and then studied his son, who looked as though he had already grown fond of the animal. He called over the owner, purchased the owl, and then left the owl shop to Draco arguing with his mother about purchasing the most expensive owl the shop could legally sell. It had been a perfect day, and at the end of the night, Michael laid in his bed studying his wand, while his owl sat in her cage on the nightstand next to his bed, fast asleep. Minutes seemed like hours to Michael lately, and then out of nowhere he realized something, "I haven't given her a name!" He spent a few more minutes considering names that could work "Hoot, no that's just pathetic. Owly, wow do I suck at creativity… how about: Ollie. I kind of like it." Ollie. Simple, yet distinctive. At that he decided he needed to get some rest, it had been a long day and he barely slept the night before, and before he knew it he was fast asleep.

The next few weeks went by rather fast for Michael. He got to understand Ollie better, while he studied some of his textbooks, too excited to wait for school to actually start reading them. Ollie enjoyed company, especially Michael's, and over the two weeks they grew close, close to the point where Ollie waited for Michael to fall asleep before she went out for her nightly hunt, as to why he could only guess but almost every night she waited up, he would wake up to her leaving and again when she came back. Ollie enjoyed being rubbed under her beak and on the sides of her head, and she didn't mind her cage which Michael found odd. If he were any type of animal the last thing he would want was to be caged up and powerless. As for his books, he was studying one of his spell books, trying to grasp the mental understanding of levitating objects. He had seen his father do it before, but curiosity killed Michael in this situation, because he was desperate to learn as much as he could. He became what Muggles would call a _bookworm_, and spent most of his days reading these books and learning what he could from some of his father's magical book collection.

It was the night before Michael's father would be helping him board onto the train to Hogwarts, and tomorrow would be the day Michael had so patiently waited for. Tomorrow would begin his journey through seven years of schooling in order to build Michael into a wizard, like his father. He would walk the same halls that his mother had, the same classes and spells and lessons that she had been through when she attended Hogwarts. The thought of that alone was enough to make Michael anxious to wander the grounds of Hogwarts, curious as to whether he could find out more about his mother than he already knew. When it was time to get up, Michael had already had his things packed and ready to be put into the car. The trip to King's Cross would only take about 20 minutes or so, but he figured the earlier they arrived, the earlier he would be able to board the train. By the time he was dressed and downstairs, his father had been waiting for him, almost as if he couldn't sleep that night either and was almost as anxious as Michael was. "Well Dad you look like you're ready to kick me out of the door already, just try not to turn my room into a personal dueling chamber or something while I'm gone. I know how much you Auror's enjoy your dueling but I'd rather fancy you didn't blow up any of my stuff."

His father smiled back at him but didn't give him the reply that Michael was expecting. "Come sit, son. There's something I wanted to give you before we don't have the time." He gestured his son over towards him, then took a seat in the living room next to his father. The living room was to the right of the door and was the largest part of the house. Michael took a seat on the couch and then his father pulled from behind him what looked like a photo to Michael. When he noticed what it was he was taken-a-back for a moment, but then reached for the photo as quickly as he could. He stared at the photo, curious as to why he had never seen it before. His father was the first to speak, "That is a photo of me and your mum. Back at Hogwarts. I won't do with explaining where because you'll eventually find the spot, but I've waited 11 years to give you this. Since your mum has died, well let's just say it hasn't been the easiest adventure for me. Raising a boy by myself was never something I had imagined, and although I miss your mum dearly, as I'm sure you do too, you're still the best thing that's ever happened to me."

After listening to his father speak, he looked down at the photo once more. His father was in black dress robes, while his mother was in a beautiful maroon colored dress. He noticed that his mother was shorter than his father, who wasn't exactly tall himself. He stood at around 5'8'' which made his mother about 5'4''. She had dirty blonde hair, with beautiful blue eyes, which Michael assumed is where his looks came from. He had dirty blonde hair, short on the back and sides and long in the front, which his father would use a spell in order to give it the puff that it needed. After the spell was done, his hair looked like a model's haircut. He noticed the build of his father in the picture, muscular but not over-the-top gigantic. This couldn't have been a better gift to give him before going to school. His father must have understood his son's thinking, because at that moment he stood up and said, "Well we best get on with it then, there's only a short window to board the train and if we miss that then we are screwed!" and left the room to go start loading the car.

By the time they arrived at King's Cross, it wasn't hard to tell the wizards from the Muggles. The wizards were closely-knit families who had a child or children pushing around a trolley full of the most peculiar things to have at a Muggle train station. For example, almost every wizard or witch that Michael saw had their owl's in their cages, and the Muggles were giving each of them confused stares, including Michael. He had Ollie on top of his trolley, and he and his father made their way to the Muggle platforms 9 and 10. "Dad, how exactly am I going to get onto platforms 9 and three-quarters? It's not like they would make it visit for the Muggles to see?" As they approached platforms 9 and 10, his dad drew to a halt, and Michael did the same. He put his hand on Michael's shoulder and then gave him his answer.

"In order to get to the Hogwarts Express, Michael, we have to walk through the walls of the columns separating platforms 9 and 10. You can walk, or you can run, but if you run just be careful not to plow over anyone on the other side. My first year I ran through the wall and kept going because I hadn't any clue as to what was on the other side, and then I took out the band-legs of a poor old woman who wouldn't stop screaming at me for the rest of the boarding." He shrugged his shoulders and gave his son an 'oh well' look which made his son laugh and ease up at the thought of running straight at a wall. He took a deep breathe, and then made his approach. As he ran through he came to a stop when he caught glimpse of the Hogwarts Express: he couldn't help but make his eyes as wide as his owl's, and his draw slid down ever so slightly at the image. It was incredible. He had been on trains before but nothing could have compared to this beauty. It was a black train with a singular gold stripe down the side all the way to the back of the train. It looked as though the train was brand-new, and the platform was covered with witches and wizards, helping their children onto it. He couldn't keep himself from staring at it, but just then he felt a trolley slam into him and lift him off his feet, causing him to fly backwards onto this person's belongings. Michael lay flat on the top of the trolley, almost laughing at what had just happened. He was imagining his father doing the same dastardly thing to this poor old woman, and just as the thought had evaded his mind a boy ran up and started nervously apologizing.

"Oh my god I'm so sorry! I didn't know how to get onto the platform, but then I ran into some people running through the wall and they told me to take it at a bit of a run if I was nervous and then as soon as my trolley hit the wall I must've ran into you! I'm sorry, really I didn't mean…" the boy looked puzzled because he noticed Michael was giggling on top of his trolley. Michael hopped off and tried to calm the boy down.

"Hey, relax its okay. Nobody got hurt. Besides, my dad was just telling me a story of how he did the same thing his first year to a poor old woman. Could you imagine the look on her face when she got flipped backwards by a first year?! No worries, mate, everything's okay." The two of them exchanged laughs, then Michael suggested they move their carts so that doesn't happen again. Michael was still smirking at the events that just transpired, and the boy was still looking awfully upset at what he had just done, so Michael tried to break the silence.

"My name's Michael. Michael Morgan. This is my first year too; don't be so nervous mate. You look as though you have to go to the bathroom or something." To this the boy eased up a little more, and even gave a faint smile at Michael. The boy had dark, black hair that was a complete mess, but the boy didn't seem to mind. His clothes looked two sizes too big, and his bright green eyes left Michael in awe.

"My name's Harry. Harry Potter." The boy looked as though he was expecting a million questions from Michael, but he knew the feeling all-too-well. Being asked about what happened that night, about his scar, about if he can remember anything. He hated it too, and even when he had believed the story of the car accident that killed his mum, he still hated having to deal with those questions. He tried to take a more friendly approach instead. "Nice to meet you, Harry. Although, everybody should know your name here." He thought he was being casual, but the boy looked taken aback from the comment. Michael assumed he wasn't use to the fame that had evolved over the years, after staying at the home of those Muggles for eleven years. "I don't mean to sound rude if I came off as that! Oh, bloody hell I need to shut up haha. Well, do you want to go find a spot on the train? If we don't start soon, we might have to partner up with some real foul gits." At that he saw Harry give him an honest smile, and to that he decided that meant 'yes', so they took their trolleys and made way for a seat on the Hogwarts Express.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

They found a spot on the train about halfway down, and when they placed their trunks on the metal shelves above them (as they both struggled to get their luggage atop it) they both took seats next to the windows on the opposite sides of each other. At first conversation was thin, talking about pointless things like how their summer had been. Then, out of nowhere, Harry broke the pointless talks. "So what was your favorite thing you got from Diagon Alley?" Michael was hoping that something like this would come up in their talks, and he immediately moved his hand to his right hip and said, "Probably my wand. I know you grew up with Muggles but seeing my dad use his wand over the years and seeing other wizards use their wands makes you want to know the feeling personally." When he mentioned his father he noticed Harry tense up and looked more intently out the window: apparently that conversation was a soft spot for him, and Michael couldn't blame him. He grew up knowing the story of the famous Harry Potter, knowing the horrors that he had to live with, and the things he must have just recently found out. He felt ashamed that he could be so thoughtless about what he had said to him, and he made sure he made up for it.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to cause any pain for you. I know a thing or two about what you're going through though…" Michael looked down at his lap and started fidgeting with his hands, and Harry broke the silence.

"What do you mean, 'you know a thing or two'?"

Michael looked up and knew that he had no way out of this. There was no way of sugar-coating the story now, and he just had to man-up and accept that. He took a deep sigh, and then decided to get on with it. "Well, when I was only a couple months old, my mother was murdered. By Voldemort. People know my story but I don't get all the unwanted attention that you get. People don't understand what it feels like, when they come up to you and ask what happened or if they can see your scar, and you have to relive the moment, the story, as if it doesn't bother you. It's honestly nothing that anyone should have to live with, and I lost my mom to him. I hate him, and you may not know of him because of where you grew up, but I'm sure that when you learn about him you'll feel the same way. I'm sorry to just drop all this on you like I have but, I figured you deserved to know that you're not alone here, at least not anymore."

To that statement, Harry cheered up a bit, and they started talking about Diagon Alley again, mainly about the owl Emporium. They started talking about Hedwig and Ollie, and about the many different owls that they saw. Then came the thought of Draco Malfoy and Michael couldn't help himself but to bring it up, "Actually while I was in there I ran into another boy who is going to Hogwarts this year, he said his name was Draco Malfoy. Did you happen to run into him by any chance?" Harry raised his eyebrows at the name and replied with "Actually I ran into him while I was at Madam Malkin's getting my robes fitted. He seems like a bit of a…" Michael couldn't help but interrupt "git." They both laughed at that comment, but out of nowhere the door slid open and a boy was standing in front of them with all of his things still in hand. He had bright red hair, pale white skin, and freckles practically covering his entire face. He looked exhausted, with a small patch of sweat starting to surface on his forehead.

"Du'ya mind if I join you? All the other trolleys are full…" They both agreed and then helped the red-head with his luggage, this time not struggling as much because of the support of three people. As they all settled in, it was back to square one with conversations.

"Thanks for that, I had a hard enough time carrying the luggage halfway down the train, I probably would've dropped the bloody things all over me if you two hadn't helped me. Muh'names Ron by the way. Ron Wesley. How 'bout you two?" He looked over at Michael first so he answered, and when he did his eyebrow's shot up and his eye's had widened. Then he looked over at Harry, and when he told him who he was Ron's eyes got even wider and his jaw dropped. He stuttered at first, but then he said, "My god I'm sitting with the two most famous wizards of our time! Well besides Dumbledore I suppose. Do you two actually have the… well the…" He couldn't finish his sentence. Michael looked over at Harry and they both exchanged smiles, both knowing that this would not be the last time people would ask about it. Harry removed his hair to show the lightning scar on his forehead, and Michael lifted his shirt slightly to show his scar, which was a bit less sporty if he said so himself. Ron looked at both scars and after they covered them up, Ron couldn't help but blurt out how cool they were even though Harry and Michael knew that they both were thinking they would trade them back in a heartbeat.

Suddenly, two boys barged into the room almost as if they had been waiting for the moment. They looked completely identical, with the same red-haired, freckled-covered face that Ron had. The only difference was that they were much taller and slimmer than Ron, which Michael took to be that they were a few years older than he. As soon as they came in they practically both spoke in unison.

"Hello, Ron, care to join us in Lee Jordan's trolley? She's about to show us something that's going to 'BLOW YOUR MIND' quite literally, actually."

Ron laughed a little then replied, "No I'm alright. Fred, George, this is Harry Potter and Michael Morgan. Harry, Michael, these are my brother's Fred and George."

Once they had heard the names, their faces made the same expression that Ron's had when he first heard them, but they quickly went away, clearly dying to ask questions but too busy at the moment to bother.

"Alright see ya later then." And they were off.

The three boys were enjoying a conversation, mostly Harry was asking questions about magic and what it was like to see and use it. Michael showed him a spell he had learned from his father's personal book collection, repairing Harry's glasses and leaving him surprised and excited. As they talked they noticed the train come out from under a bridge and the sun was nearly completely set over the hill out their window. At this they decided that it would be best to change into their robes because they were told the train would be arrive sometime after the sun set by one of the older students. While they were in the middle of changing their robes, the door swung open only to hear a squeak and a clap of the hands. Michael was standing in his jumpers with his pants about half-way up his legs, Harry was just pulling on his shirt, and Ron was completely barren besides his jumpers.

When they all looked towards the door to see who was standing there they saw a girl, about their age, with bushy-brown hair that seemed to be everywhere. She had brown eyes, as they were as wide as she could've made them, and her skin was white (although her cheeks said otherwise, being as bright as scarlet-red). Michael finished pulling up his pants and then spoke first, "Sorry, we're kind of in the middle of changing but is there something you needed to tell us?" Ron nearly fainted and Harry looked a bit queasy himself but Michael kept his cool even though he knew he wasn't entirely fond of the situation. The girl removed her hands and kept her eyes on Michael's, and said "I'm so sorry I didn't know! I was coming in to ask if you had seen a toad because a boy named Neville has lost one but I can see you haven't a clue where it is, I'll just be going now!" and she ran out the door, slamming it shut behind her.

Michael couldn't help but laugh at what had just happened, while Ron's whole body had turned the scarlet-red color that the girl's cheeks had been, and Harry seemed a bit quieter now than he had before, but Michael knew it was just because of that moment. Pretty soon this would be pushed behind them, because just as they all took their seats, the train had slowed down and they had just arrived at Hogwarts, and things couldn't have gone any better so far.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

(I know this chapter is a bit lengthy and i'll admit i got carried away in my own little world for a little bit, but so far this was my favorite chapter to write so hopefully you'll enjoy it as much as i did. There are some things similar to the actually Harry Potter story, so i just want to remind everyone that i DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE ORIGINAL WORKS. they are not my own, so if offend anyone i apologize ahead of time. there are just some things i believed shouldnt be changed. anyways, back to the chapter!)

The train stopped and they could hear voices screaming through the train: "Leave your luggage, everything will be accounted for! First years please step off the train to the right and follow Hagrid!" They gave each other quizzical looks, and then did as they were told. They were some of the first of their year to exit the train, and while Michael was looking at Harry while they were talking, he ran into what felt like a brick wall and fell to the ground. Harry and Ron couldn't help but laugh at him, while he looked up to see what might as well have been a brick wall. A man, well a giant man at that, was standing over him with a long, scruffy beard that came down to about his chest. He had long scruffy hair to match that, and he stood at what Michael guessed to be over 8 feet tall. He lowered his hands to help Michael up, and as he took it he could feel the man's hands wrap around half his forearm.

"Hello, Hagrid! I was looking forward to seeing you again once I'd heard you were leading the first years." It was Harry who spoke, and to Ron and Michael's surprise at that. So THIS was Hagrid? He was massive! But from the way Harry was talking to him he acted as though he were the most harmless person on the planet.

"'Ello 'arry! Nice tur see you. And who might 'ey be? Makin' friends already, 'uh?" Hagrid gave Harry a pat on the shoulder then continued to shout 'FIRST YEARS FOLLOW MEH' as the tiniest bodies started to surface around the other older students. Once all the students were accounted for, Hagrid had the students follow him. It wasn't long before the trees cleared and each student started gasping at the image in front of them. Hogwarts: and even more incredible than any of them could have imagined. Even Michael had seen pictures of it in his father's books, but nothing could compare to this. It wasn't just a school, but a castle. With pillars climbing higher than they looked in the pictures and what looked like dozens of them. Hagrid gestured them to keep follow and they made their way to a bridge that went over the lake in front of the school. In three lines, the students made their way from the boarding area for the Hogwarts Express, over to the grounds of Hogwarts itself. It was certainly not a moment that Harry, Ron, or Michael was going to forget, and he was sure none of the other students would argue with that feeling either. They entered the large, wooden doors of the castle and went up a few stairs to their left only to be greeted by someone else. She had long gray hair that she kept up in a bun, with hints of wrinkles in her face. Her lips were curled as if she were made, but Michael just guessed that was her usual face and she couldn't control that look. She was in classy witches robes, and she was the first to speak when the new students arrived.

"Thank you Hagrid, I'll handle it from here. My name is Professor McGonagall. Make your way to the feast, Professor Dumbledore is waiting for you as we speak. Now as for all of you. Beyond these doors behind me you will all be placed into your respective houses. During your time here at Hogwarts, these houses will be more than just the part of the school you represent. They will become like a family to you. Anything worth being rewarded for and you will gain points for your house. Anything or anyone who causes trouble will lose points for their houses. Once we enter, there will be a short welcoming speech, and then you will all be placed into your houses through a test. Now… follow me." The Professor led the students through another pair of wooden doors, revealing five tables, four of them set vertically with the door and packed with students, while a singular table lay horizontally in front of all of them, completely empty. Beyond that table, Michael guessed, to seat all the professors. Behind him he could hear someone rambling on about the room they were in and turned to see who it was. Coincidentally, it was the same girl who had walked in on them changing on the train. She was going on about how, "this is called the Great Hall. It's where we'll spend all our meals and if there is an important memo the headmaster will summon us all here in order to get all the students in one place."

'So, I'm in the Great Hall, huh?' Michael thought to himself. Ron moved his head over to whisper into his ear, "a real bookworm, that one, don'tya think? She's been practically reciting Hogwarts: A History since we got off that bloody train." They reached the table and Harry sat down in the middle of the bench closest to the four tables, with Michael and Ron on his sides. The girl who was still ranting on about the Great Hall sat down next to Michael, and the other students filed in and took their seats. Once Professor McGonagall took her seat, the man in the middle of the teacher's table stood and everyone quieted down. He raised both hands in the air and began his speech.

"Welcome to Hogwarts. Some of you are returning for some more wonderful years here, while others are about to begin a most exciting journey. Now, before we start the sorting ceremony, I'd like to bring up a few noticeable things to your attention. Firstly, Mr. Filch has asked that he re-open the dungeon for any wrong-doers, but I have kindly denied that request." He gave a smile to the students, but then looked over to the Weasley twins and winked at them. "Secondly, Hogwarts will become your new home, and I kindly ask that you do here the same you would at your own home. And lastly, please be away that the third floor corridor is strictly off limits to any students. Now, let us start with the ceremony, shall we?" The Professor waved his hand in a sideways gesture, and out of thin air a black wizard's hat appeared in the middle of the table where the first-years were seated. Almost every student jumped back in surprise, except for the blonde-haired boy Harry and Michael knew as Draco Malfoy. Once everyone was past their shocks, they relaxed back into their seats and Dumbledore began to speak again.

"This is known as the Sorting Hat When Hogwarts was first founded, there were four founders: Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, Salazar Slitherin, and Godrig Gryffindor. Once they came near their times to die, they each placed a 'part of their brains', so to speak, into the hats so that the students could still be chosen for their respective houses by the founders. Every year, the hat sings a song for the new students to hear, so let us all listen to what cleverness it has thought up this year!" Dumbledore sat down rather enthusiastically, giving a hint that he enjoyed this part of the Sorting ceremony each time it occurred. The hat went from being normal, to have slits where eyes should have been and a mouth that appeared out of nowhere. The hat cleared its throat and then began,

"Welcome, welcome, I must dare say.

I am the Sorting Hat that decides your way.

Created by the founders of this great school,

I'll be choosing your house once you sit on this stool.

Now before I continue, I have to admit,

Once my choice is made you have to commit.

Now on to what you've been waiting for,

What each house means and what each house adores.

Ravenclaw was made for the wise,

The clever, the wits, who keep intelligence high.

Hufflepuff values patience and hard work,

They enjoy allegiance, and have no time for jerks.

Slytherin likes the creative and cunning,

If you do not fit, you best expect their shunning.

Last, but not least; the house of Gryffindor.

Who values bravery, and loyalty down to the core.

Whichever house you are chosen, be proud of your choice.

For every choice has a meaning, so sit back and rejoice.

I take great pride in each student's thoughts,

To be honest, it's is one of the first things I spot.

So before I make my choice, I will read your mind.

Then choose the house that you will be assigned.

Wherever you are placed be sure to tread softly,

For each mistake could be very costly.

With that I must bid my farewells,

New student be smart or you could get expelled!"

The whole hall gave a great cheer and was all clapping as the hat gave a low tilt of his top then became still again on top of the table. Professor McGonagall came back from behind the teachers table with a stool in her hand and placed it down just above the top step leading up to the teachers table in the middle. "Now, I am going to call your names from the list, and I ask that you sit down on the stool as the Sorting Hat makes his decision." Michael turned to Harry and gave him an excited tap on his shoulder, then looked back towards Professor McGonagall. "Now, first. Hannah Abbot, please come forward." The girl was seated to the right of Harry, Ron, and Michael, and she stood very slowly, clearly nervous as she must have known she would be the first to be called. She made her way up to the stool, sat down, and Professor McGonagall placed the Sorting Hat atop her head. After a few seconds, the Sorting Hat screamed out 'HUFFLEPUFF' and the table second in from the left of the hall gave a loud scream of acceptance as they all clapped for their new member. A few more people were called up and sorted; the first was a boy who went to Hufflepuff as well, then a girl who was sorted into Ravenclaw. After her another girl went up to be sorted into Slytherin.

"Draco Malfoy." The blonde-haired boy smirked at the very mention of his name, then stood up almost casually, and made his way to the stool. The hat had barely set touch to his hairs before it screamed out 'SLYTHERIN' and the table all the way to the left cheered. Michael gave Harry a 'well that was odd' look and Ron leaned in and whispered to the both of them 'Almost all the bad wizards go to Slytherin, and almost all of them turn up to be the worst of kind too'. Michael just laughed, but then he noticed Harry look down in nervousness. He patted him on the back, Ron too oblivious to what he had done to Harry's self-consciousness. Harry eased up, and then Professor McGonagall spoke again. "Harry Potter."

At the sound of his name, everybody started to whisper. Michael couldn't blame them; he was the Boy Who Lived after all. He got onto the stool, and the Sorting Hat was on his head. He noticed the hat's lips appear again, and was saying something to Harry. Then he noticed Harry's hand move from his lap to the sides of the stool and he gripped them, tightly from the looks of it. He could tell Harry was whispering something to the hat, and the hat gave what looked like it's best impression of a shoulder-shrug, then blasted out 'GRYFFINDOR'. Harry had been the first to be chosen for Gryffindor, and the table second in from the right was going absolutely crazy! Cheering would only be a modest way of explaining how the Gryffindor's had reacted. Michael couldn't help but smile. After everything Harry has been through, it was nice to see him having no worries in the world; finally free.

After the cheers had died down, the Professor looked down at her list again. "Michael Morgan." The crowd had a similar effect as it did for Harry's name being called, although it wasn't as dramatic, not that it bothered Michael. He could hear the whole hall whispering like it had been for Harry, but they had died down quicker than they had for Harry. He took his seat on the stool, and the Professor dropped down the hat on his head.

To Michael's surprise, the hat started speaking to him. "Ah, Mr. Morgan. I dare say you have your mother's brain, that's for sure. But you also share your father's courage, no doubt about that. You are daring, and not afraid to be yourself from what it looks to be. You are almost as tough a choice as Harry Potter was, however, I must go with my initial feelings… GRYFFINDOR!" A smile drew immediately to Michael's face, and he saw Harry was cheering and clapping for him almost more than the rest of the Gryffindor tables. He took a seat next to Harry, and could hear some of the older Gryffindor's saying to the Slytherins 'We've got both of them!' which didn't even dampen either Harry or Michael's mood. They may not have enjoyed their celebrity, but they enjoy the feeling of being wanted, and when you are a first year at one of the most well-known wizarding schools ever, that's definitely a good start to your term. After the cheering had died down, the Professor read from the list again.

"Hermione Granger." Finally, Michael, Ron, and Harry could put a name to the face. The bushy brown-haired girl started mumbling to herself as she took her seat on the stool. Michael was sure that she would be put in Ravenclaw, she had all the intelligence she needed from what he had heard just listening to her talk about the Great Hall, but sure enough the sorting hat waited a few seconds and then screamed out 'GRYFFINDOR' and she took a seat across from Michael. He held out his hand to greet her as she settled in and said, "Hi, I'm Michael. We uh… met on the trolley earlier haha. Oh and this is Harry by the way." She beamed a smile at them as her cheeks started to turn a pinkish color this time around and replied back, "Oh gosh I really am sorry about that. I didn't even think to knock, it was completely my fault. And my name is Hermione Granger, by the way." Michael smiled back at her, and then the sorting continued. Ron was the last person to be sorted, and before the Professor could say his name from the list he was already halfway to the stool. He sat down, nervous as ever, and the hat was placed on his head. Out of nowhere Ron jumped and the Sorting hat nearly fell off his head, but he raised his hand and caught it. The Sorting hat laughed, and then yelled 'GRYFFINDOR' and Ron joined the table, asking if the others who had been chosen would move down so he could take a seat next to Hermione to be with his friends.

Once the stool and table were emptied, Dumbledore stood to his feet spoke. "Now that the first years have all been sorted, let us eat!" He waved his hand like he had earlier and out of thin air, hundreds of plates appeared on all four tables and everyone started to dig in as if they had never been more hungry in their lives. Once the feast was over, Dumbledore stood again and bid everyone goodnight and the Prefects led their respective houses to their common rooms. One of Ron's brothers, Percy, was the Gryffindor prefect, and he brought all the new Gryffindor's up the seventh floor. Once they reached a painting which Percy referred to as 'The Fat Lady' she asked him for the password. Percy turned to the first years and told them to be sure not to forget the password or else they will be sitting outside the painting waiting for someone to come or waiting for someone to leave. He then turned to the painting and said 'Chivas Ouvrir' and the Fat Lady's painting then slowly swung open. The first years were all in awe of the giant common room that they were now standing in. A fireplace stood to the right of them, with a few couches surrounding it. There were a few tables to the left, where Fred, George and who Michael assumed to be Lee Jordan, sitting on top of them. "Now the staircase to the left is the boys' dormitories, and girls, yours is to the right. As for the boys, I wouldn't try to sneak up the girls' staircase, as it is enchanted and you don't want to know what happens. You will find all of your belongings have already been brought to your rooms, and as the house Prefect I must say how excited we all are to have you in our house. Now I suggest you all go unpack your things, because tomorrow will be the first day of classes and the last thing you want to do is be late of your first day." With that, the students all filed off: boys' to the left and girl's to the right. Once Michael, Harry, and Ron had gotten to their dorm, they noticed that everything had actually been brought up. The dorm had 5 beds, each with drapes for each one. The five beds circled around the room, while a fireplace sat in the middle. Michael's bed was the second one to the right of the door, closest to the window. Harry's was the first, and Ron's was the first on the opposite side. They started unpacking their things when two more boys came into the room. One was a goofy looking boy who with short brown hair and rabbit-like buck teeth. The other was a shorter boy who had smaller eyes, and also short brown hair. Michael was the first to speak, deciding that it would be best to introduce everybody to one another. "Hello mates. My names Michael. This is Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. How bout you then, what's your names?"

The shorter boy spoke first, while the other looked like he was about to collapse from nerves. "My names Seamus Finnigan. I 'spose we'll be rooming together for the next 7 years guys!" Next to speak was the goofy boy, "I'm Neville. Longbottom. Sorry I'm so nervous, but I've just lost my toad and if I don't find…" He stopped mid-sentence when he noticed a toad in a cage on the bed in the back of the room, and to that he relaxed noticeable. Ron interrupted and asked if anyone fancied a game of Wizard's Chess, and to that Seamus was the first to agree. Harry asked Michael if he wanted to go down to the common room for a bit, so they decided that they could go waste some time before finishing their unpacking.

"So was your mum or dad in Gryffindor?" Harry was curious, and it was only fair. He hadn't exactly had the best 11 years of his life; in fact, the Sorting Ceremony might have been one of his best.

"Actually, none of my parents were in Gryffindor. Both my mum and me dad were in Ravenclaw. I guess I wasn't intelligent enough for it, which doesn't bother me in the slightest. I've always wanted to be a Gryffindor since I first new about the four houses."

Once they got down to the common room, they noticed Hermione was sitting on the couch next to the fire, and from the looks of it she was reading one of her textbooks. They looked at each other, shrugged their shoulders, and made their way over to the couches.

"Do you mind if we join you?" Michael asked. Hermione was a bit startled, whether from his politeness in asking, or if she was too deep in comprehension that she was actually startled. "Oh… no of course not" she replied.

Harry sat on the single couch next to the fire while Michael took a seat on the opposite side of the large couch across from the fire where Hermione was sitting. He glanced over and noticed she was reading her transfiguration textbook, and before he could stop himself he blurted out, "Why are you reading your textbooks for tomorrow's class?" Surprised that even he had come out blasting before thinking about what he should have said, he made sure to correct his mistake. "Not that there's anything wrong with that, I actually read some of my textbooks when I had first gotten them. But I'm just curious, 'cause I would figure you were worn out from reading so much…" She gave a small smile to him and then replied in a low voice "I can't help it to be honest. I'm just so excited for tomorrow! And I feel like if I don't read this tonight I might screw up tomorrow and I can't have that happening. See I'm from a… well a Muggle… family; and since I haven't a clue to any sort of magic, I guess you could say I'm trying to get a head start. Or I guess a better term would be catching up." Harry looked up at her and tried to make her feel better about the 'Muggle' mentioning. "Don't worry; I was raised by Muggles too. I didn't even know I was famous until about 2 days ago, so trust me I'm just as worried as you are about fitting in to the magical world." He started fidgeting with his fingers and Michael could tell the two of them were both worried about the 'Muggle' years of growing up.

"Look, I know you're both worried but trust me when I say that there are plenty of witches and wizards who come from muggle families and become extremely successful witches and wizards. Me dad, for example, grew up with two muggle parents and now he's an Auror for the Ministry! So if anybody tells you you're at a disadvantage, they're wrong. And just so you know, just because we grow up with magic in our lives doesn't mean we know how to use it." Michael winked at Hermione and her tension loosened drastically, and apparently what he had said helped loosen Harry's nerves too. He stared into the fire, and knew that night was one of the best nights of his entire life.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Michael was the second person to wake, Harry being the first. It was early in the morning before their first lesson so Michael knew he didn't have to rush for any reasons. He grabbed his change of clothes and went to take a shower. By the time he had finished his shower; almost everyone else had woken up and was talking excitedly. Michael wasn't a morning person at all, so he grabbed his textbooks that he needed for their first lesson at Charms and headed for the door before Harry stopped him. "Where ya headin'?" He asked, curious as to where his new friend was off too in such a hurry.

"It's just that, well, I'm not much a morning bloke ya'see, so I was going to head down to grab a bite before we have to head out for classes. Figured that might wake me up a bit." Harry nodded at Michael and offered his farewell's until he saw him next, and then Michael started his way through the common room, out of the painting, and through the corridors. He was looking through one of his spell books when he took a corner and ran into something. He took a step back and looked up instantly to find Hermione flat on the ground, clearly as surprised as he was. He slammed his spell book shut and quickly went to help the girl to her feet. "My god, I'm so sorry I didn't mean to" his voice trailed off as Hermione finally got to her feet, but instead of hammering him with how much of an idiot he was like he had been expecting, she grabbed the book from beneath his arm and started to inspect it. Then she smiled and looked up at him, "So which spell were you reading? I've read that book about three times since I've gotten it. I suspect we'll be learning the Levitation Charm first since that seems to be one of the easiest. Although, I have to admit the dancing charm would be rather amusing."

Michael was baffled, but took the conversation with gratitude. He had just leveled this poor girl to the floor and all she was worried about was what Charms spells he thought they would learn first. "Well I've only read it once but I 'spose I'd have to agree: definitely Levitation will be one of the easiest. Actually, I was headin' to grab a bite to eat, you could join me if you'd like. I've actually been meaning to discuss some of the History of Magic text, and I overheard you saying in the Great Hall before the Sorting Ceremony that you had read it." Hermione blushed slightly but then gave a smile, "That sounds great! I've read all the books three times minimum but I'd say I've read the spell book and Defense Against the Dark Arts book about five or six times. You can never be too cautious when it comes to grades." To that Michael had to laugh a bit. He knew he was a bit of a bookworm but when he heard how she studied it made him feel almost like a normal student.

When they made it down to the Great Hall, there weren't too many people seated at the tables. About five Slytherins, ten Hufflepuffs, seven Gryffindors, and seven Ravenclaws were at their respective tables. Harry and Hermione made their way to the front of the Gryffindor table almost to the same seats as they had taken last night. They sat down next to one another, and as Michael reached for some muffins to put on his plate, Hermione immediately took out her History of Magic book and started reciting the main events. "I've actually learned a lot about the Magical Community from this book, but I picked up some other books just to get some more information. Actually, you're in one of the books, you and Harry! It's called 'The Greatest Magical Beings of this Millennium'." Michael was taken aback: HE was in a book about the greatest magical people in the past one thousand years? Certainly that must have been a mistake, he hadn't even done anything! Hermione kept speaking, "Your history is quite terrifying, I'm sorry."

Breakfast has put a sour taste in Michael's mouth, and he was hoping that Charms class would change his mood. He and Hermione made way to exit the great hall, and were on the move to Professor Flitwick's classroom. Hermione helped change Michael's mood when she realized what was wrong and started talking about her muggle life, which made Michael laugh at some of the things she use to have to do. Since he grew up in the wizarding world, he hadn't any clue what it was like in their world, and from the sounds of it, it was definitely something interesting to see. They finally arrived at the class, and were some of the first to be there which was surprising because they were only about ten minutes early. They took a seat on one of the two-seat tables in the middle of all the others, and started to get their quill and ink ready for note-taking.

Harry and Ron were just leaving the portrait when they realized the time. "Bloody hell 'Arry we're going to be late!" They started running down the staircases, making sure to beat them before they started changing again. They needed to make it down to the fourth floor, and at the moment they were making terrible progress. Luckily though, the stairs shifted into perfect alignment and they were able to keep their momentum moving as they turned the corner into the Fourth Floor Corridor. At last, with a minute to spare, Michael saw Harry and Ron barge into the room, clearly wheezing for breathe. He rolled his eyes then waved them over, making sure to save them seats next to him and Hermione before they arrived. They trudged over, slapped their bags on the table and then started to remove their quill and ink. Professor Flitwick opened the door from the front of the room, and then made his way over to the center of the room to greet all of his newest students. He was a short, pointy-eared wizard. He looked as if he was part-goblin, giving off some of their physical qualities. Michael guessed if he stood next to the Professor that he would just reach up to his knees, and he looked over at Ron and Harry and giggled but then covered his mouth, and they had already been giggling. Hermione elbowed Michael in the ribs and he brought his attention back to the Professor.

"Ah well I s'pose it's time for all of you to have your very first lesson at Hogwarts! My name is Professor Flitwick, and as I'm sure you already noticed, I'm half-goblin and half-human. I was chosen into Ravenclaw when I first came to Hogwarts, and I now represent the house as a Professor. Now through this course there will be a number of spells you will learn, those being _Wingardium Leviosa, Lumos, Incendio, _and _Spongify._ The first spell is the levitation spell, which will allow you to make objects, in a matter of speaking, fly. The second is the light charm, allow you to produce a magical orb of light from the tips of your wands, and is a most useful spell. The third spell will also be covered in Herbology, and is the fire charm. And the last spell I mention will also be covered in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and is the softening charm, which makes an object or target rubbery and bouncy. Now does anyone need me to repeat that for your notes?" As no one raised their hands, the Professor continued. "Very well. Now, for today's lesson, I'd like you all to draw this motion into your notes, and then practice it with your wands. It isn't a brisk movement, but a smooth and steady one." He waved his wand at a chalkboard behind him, and a drawing of the wand pattern appeared on it. There were three steps: first, the user must flick his wand to the right, almost like a conductor of a band. The second step was to swish your wand up, moving the wand back towards the left a bit in order to swish it upwards, and the final step was to flick the wand back down. "Now, when we actually practice the charm later on in the lessons, I will be giving you each an owl feather. Now, this is very important so be sure to write this down" the entire class stopped their quill drawings in order to hear what was so important for their notes "when speaking the charm and moving your wand, be sure to start the charm the same time you start the movement of your wands, or else your basically saying gibberish and flicking a piece of wood around. You want to start the spell at the start of your flick, and finish the spell with the finishing motion of the wand. Be sure to remember that as well. It may seem basic, but it is nevertheless important information."

Hermione was jotting down almost every word the Professor said, and although Michael thought he had a lot of notes, he couldn't compare them. The Professor pulled out his wand and asked the students to mirror him as he did the swish-and-flick motion, and the whole class did the same. About three-quarters of the way through their lesson, the Professor decided it was time to practice on real objects. "Here are the feathers I mentioned earlier, so each of you will get one. Try your best to levitate the feather in the air, but do not feel hurt if you can't get it on the first try." After all the feathers were handed out, everyone started attempting the levitation trick. Michael and Hermione were the two closest to managing to float the feather, making it wiggle on their desks. Michael sat back in frustration and made a glance over at Harry and Ron to see that neither of them had made much progress either. In fact, Ron's face was bright red and he was practically trying to slam his wand on the feather to make it move. Harry caught Michael looking over and made a curt head nod towards Ron and they both started laughing. Then as Michael went to resume his practice, he saw the feather next to him rise up into the air. "Ms. Granger's done it everyone! Ten points to Gryffindor! Great job Ms. Granger very well done." The Professor was beaming with happiness, and Hermione was doing just the same. From the corner of the room, Michael saw Seamus, seated next to Neville, trying to levitate his feather again, but doing the wrong wand movements. Out of nowhere the feather exploded and left black marks across his face and clothes, and Neville terrified out of his mind. The Professor jumped back and then saw what had happened, "And that is what happens if you do not do the proper wand motions with their respective spells, class" and the whole class started laughing.

The rest of the day had gone almost as smoothly, Harry, Ron, Hermione and Michael traveled together to History of Magic, and discovered their Professor to be a ghost, which came as a bit of a shock to almost everyone there, besides Hermione of course. She had read about her Professor in a book she picked up from Diagon Alley, and was excited to see a ghost. The classes started off with the trials of two witches in 1214 and although Michael took careful notes, he couldn't help but count down the clock until his first day of classes had been finished. After History of Magic, the group made their way to the common room to drop off their books, and then decided to grab some lunch before starting on their homework from their classes. Hermione, however, decided to start on her homework rather than eat, so they left her to do her work, and the three boys made their way to the Great Hall. After lunch they decided to join Hermione with homework only to find that she was already done with her paper for History of Magic, and because she had already mastered the Charms spell, levitating some of the things around the common room. A few weeks had passed, and the four children were to the point where they were almost always seen together, even though Harry and Michael knew Ron didn't exactly fancy Hermione too much. The group was in the common room practicing their charms levitation spell. After what seemed like a million tries between the two, Michael and Harry were both able to start levitation without any trouble, but Ron, on the other hand, was still flicking his wand in the wrong motion.

"No, no, you're motions are all screwed up. Here watch, swish, flick up, and then flick down. You keep flicking before your swish." Ron gave her a nasty look and replied, "Oh please how 'bout I swish this bloody couch into you if that'll help me master it!" Harry and Michael exchanged looks and laughed again at Ron's stupid remark, but Hermione clearly took offense to it and marched out of the common room toward the portrait. "She was only trying to help Ron, there wasn't really a need for that…" Harry could tell he had made Ron realize what he did, but Ron wasn't giving up that easy. "It's like she knows everything, and she's always trying to prove to everyone like she's better than them or something, and it's bloody annoying. That's the reason she only has us to hang around, because we put up with her." Michael heard a faint cry from the portrait then he heard it swing open and footsteps running out of it. He looked over at Ron and said "Now you've done it" and then ran out of the portrait in order to follow her. Ron gave Harry a surprised look, with guilt stricken through his cheeks as he looked down and said "I didn't realize she was still there".

Hermione was faster than she looked, but it wasn't long before Michael was able to catch her. He grabbed her by the forearm to stop her from running anymore and he could see the tears streaking down her face. He felt awkward; he didn't exactly know what to do. Out of nowhere, Hermione wrapped her arms around his waist and started crying into his chest. He stood, frozen for a few moments then wrapped his arms around her to comfort her. It was weird to him, but he knew that she needed it. She pulled herself back together and then unwrapped herself from Michael. She took a step back and brushed her hair behind her left ear. Michael noticed she was blushing after he could visibly see her face. He was confused: 'She was just crying, why the hell was she smirking and blushing now?' Michael took the first initiative to break the awkwardness he felt in his stomach. "Look, you know Ron is just jealous that you're learning things so quickly right? He didn't actually mean what he had said to you…" She crossed her arms and sat down on a bench nearby, and Michael followed and sat down next to her.

Hermione's blushed cheeks had started to recede from their previous color and her voice had finally found its way back. "I didn't do anything wrong, I was just trying to help him." Michael was able to hear the strain in her voice, and he rested his hand on her shoulder before he spoke.

"Listen to me Hermione. Ron just needs to realize that he's being a bit of a wanker, and that you are only trying to help him. Ron has a sort of… circle around him. He makes sure that the only people who get through it are people he knows he can count on. To be honest, it's something I use to do when I was younger." He trailed off in thought, and Hermione leaned in and brushed her lips against her cheek, and then stood up and started walking back from where she had been running from. Michael's face lit up: 'Had she just _kissed_ him?' Where the bloody hell did that come from! Michael was in shock, but he quickly came back to his senses and ran to catch up with her, ready to walk back to the common room.

Harry and Ron were down at the Great Hall eating dinner. They hadn't seen Michael or Hermione anywhere, and they had started asking around as to where they had run off to.

"Seamus, have you seen Hermione or Michael? We haven't seen them since we were back at the common room and that was almost an hour ago." Harry hadn't expected an answer to the question but to his surprise he had one. "Actually, on my way down I ran into the two of them heading to the library, apparently going to get some History of Magic homework done." At that moment, Professor Quirll burst through the doors and started screaming "Troll in the castle! Troll down in near the dungeons! Troll down in…" As everyone was probably expecting, the Professor fainted. Everyone in the room started to freak out in terror and panic before Dumbledore rose to his feet and yelled "Everyone quiet down! Professors of their respective houses, lead your students all to the Quidditch pitch while Professor Snape, Professor McGonagall and I deal with the problem. Mr. Filch, you will be escorting Slytherin in place of Professor Snape, and Percy Weasley, where are… ah there you are. You will escort the Gryffindor's. Now move, quickly."

Harry immediately looked over at Ron, and while Ron was stashing cookies into the pockets of his robes, Harry grabbed his arm and whispered to him, "Hermione and Michael don't know!" They followed their prefect to the doors of the Great Hall then turned sharply to travel up the changing staircases until they reached the floor where the library was on. They ran past a few doors until they felt the floor rattling and Ron grabbed Harry and pulled him behind a statue. They both poked their heads out from the side of the statue and saw a disgusting, huge monster walking across the hallway towards the library. The troll was nothing that Harry could have imagined, but he noticed Ron tense up at the sight of it. Clearly, a Troll was nothing to mess with at their age. It was extremely tall and slouched its head in order not to slam it against the ceiling. It crossed from one side of the corridor to the other, and at once Harry and Ron knew that their two friends were in trouble. Harry grabbed Ron's shirt near the chest area and tugged in order to suggest they move quickly. By the time they reached the library, Harry and Ron could hear Hermione's screams. Out of desperation, the two of them pulled out their wands as they ran up to the door and yanked it forward.

Michael was throwing bricks at the troll when Harry and Ron entered. From Harry's guess, the bricks were either from the window or the ceiling from the Troll slamming its hammer against either surface. Michael pushed Hermione aside into one of the rows of books of the library and the Troll swung its hammer and knocked down three rows of book shelves. Hermione screamed and the two boys saw her get covered in books, which neither thought would have bothered her in any other situation. As they both turned their attention back to Michael, they noticed the hammer slam into his side and lift him off the ground and sent him flying across the library. When Michael landed he slammed into another bookcase and lay motionless on the ground. Hermione had finally emerged from the pile of books covering her and she immediately noticed Michael laying motionless on the ground, and started to yell at Harry and Ron.

"My god, DO SOMETHING!" she was screaming at the both of them. Ron immediately raised his wand and out of thin air, the Troll itself was floating midair. Ron, Hermione, and Harry all gave each other a look of great shock, and then Ron raised the Troll as hard and fast as he could straight into the ceiling of the library. The castle shook once the Troll hit it's head on the ceiling, and then its gigantic body slammed against the floor. Harry and Ron both wobbled to the ground, while Hermione someone managed to stay afoot and run over to Michael's side. Almost immediately after, Professor Dumbledore and his other followers came rushing into the library. Apparently the first slam of the Troll must have been enough to warn the Professors of where the Troll had actually been. They came slamming through the doors, and when they had witnessed the scene, their eyes had all widened. All but one pair. Harry noticed Professor Quirll's eyes wandering from Michael to the Troll, and then to his leg, as he moved his robes over the leg. Professor McGonagall was the first to speak.

"My god, what happened here?!"

To Harry and Ron's surprise, Hermione was the one to speak.

"It wasn't their fault Professor. Michael and I had heard about the Troll threat and we came to the library to try to cram in some last minute research that might help you to defeat it. When the Troll came in, we were unprepared and Michael was hurt saving me. If Harry and Ron hadn't shown up, Michael and I might not be standing here." She looked at Ron first, then Harry, in an almost apologetic face. They both gave an accepting nod, then Professor Dumbledore spoke.

"I must say, you all are extremely lucky to be alive. Troll's may not be the smartest of beings in the world but for a group of first years to be able to all survive, that is something to be proud of. Ten points to Gryffindor, for your amazing practice of bravery and friendship, something that I daresay has been lacking of Hogwarts Gryffindor house for a few years." The Professor looked up and gave Harry an approving glance, as if to say that his action were the right decision, even if one of his friends had been injured. The rest of the Professors exited, but Dumbledore stayed to speak to the students.

"You must all tread carefully. The other Professors may not have liked your actions today, but I believe you all to be heroes in my book. With that being said, the four of you must stick together, and you must all be there for one another. The future is a bright place, and no one knows exactly what is in store for all of you. Be sure to break the plains of mystery, and become as close as you can. You will find that it is in the best interest of all of you." At that, the Professor gestured the three students to move out of the library, and then you pulled out his wand from his robes and made a swift flick and Michael was levitating into the air, and then placed onto a stretcher that appeared out of thin air.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Things were different since the day Michael was injured against the Troll. Michael was in the hospital for a few days, and Hermione made sure that she visited every day, sometimes twice a day. Ron didn't think too much of it, but Harry couldn't help but wonder if there was something more behind the visits besides a simple friendly visit. If that were the case, she would have come to visit when Harry and Ron visited, but she enjoyed visiting on her own. After about three days, Michael finally awoke from his sleep and it was Harry and Ron that he awoke to.

"'Ello mate. Remember me?" Ron said sarcastically, clearly trying to ease any tension that he thought was there. Michael gave him a quizzical look.

"Ron, not to sound ungrateful, but why the hell are you hovering over my bed?" Harry and Ron looked at each other and smirked, and Michael knew something was up. "Okay what the hell is so funny, the last thing I remember was a Troll slamming me halfway across the library but my guess is that was just a dream…: He paused and looked at the two of them, who clearly weren't good at lying, at least not to Michael. He saw the two of them exchange the same look Michael and Harry had exchanged when Hermione ran out of the room when Ron had said his less-than-polite comment about her study habits. At that moment he knew something was wrong.

"Alright, I can see it in your faces; tell me what the bloody hell happened." Michael sat up and relaxed his back on the metal frame of the bed behind him. He crossed his arms and waited for either one of them to speak, and then Ron spoke first.

"Look, I didn't mean what I said to Hermione. I blurted it out, probably because of my stupidity, and then she ran out and you followed her. Harry and I ran went down to the Great Hall about an hour later to get something to eat and then Professor Quirll came limping in screaming about the Troll being in the lower levels of the castle, probably the dungeons. Then, all the students started to head toward the Quiddith pitch before Harry and I left the pack to come find the two of you. When we got here, you were fighting a Troll before you got flattened and smacked across the library room and then slammed your head on a… book shelf. Not the best way to go down swinging… "Ron made a swing of the arm gesture and then fell behind Harry, nervous if what he said would have any type of bad impact on his friend.

Michael looked from Harry to Ron, and then before he knew it Hermione was blasting through the door arguing with Madam Pomphrey. She saw Harry and Ron next to Michael's bed and gave Ron a bit of a nasty sort of look, smiled at Harry, and then realized that Michael was awake. He saw the look in her eyes, and it scared him, but he made sure to play nice and make sure things played out smoothly for the group.

"Hermione! Good to see you." He was nervous. He could feel sweat starting to form on his forehead and under his forearms, and from what source he didn't know. He waited for her reply, but she was too busy looking back and forth from Harry to Ron. Then she finally made eye contact with Michael, and before he knew it the two of them had a hard time not looking at one another. He waited then noticed her bottom lip start to move.

"Michael. I wasn't expecting you to be up so soon. Madam Pomphrey said you would be out for another few days, but I 'spose you are stronger than the average wizard." She studied him, almost as if she wanted to be sure that he was okay. He was concerned, he didn't know what was happening between the two of them, but he knew it wasn't anything that he had experienced before. He looked at Harry and Ron for answers, but the both of them shrugged their shoulders and gave him half-hearted replies like "Me either" or "She had a point". Hermione walked over next to Michael and sat down on a stool next to the bed. "You probably don't remember much, do you? I heard Ron explaining what happened to you so maybe I can help fill in the blanks. We were going up to the library to work on some History of Magic work. We turned towards the corridor where the doors are for the library and a Troll came around the other corner. We ran into the library and the Troll followed us, swinging its hammer all over the place. You tried the few spells you could but they weren't doing much damage to it so you tried throwing bricks at it, and then Harry and Ron came running in and you took your eye off the Troll and it swung and lifted you off the ground and you slammed your head on a… shelf." Towards the end of her story her voice started to trail off, showing signs off her being upset about the events. Michael did his best to make her feel better.

"Hermione it isn't your fault. It's none of our faults to be frank. How could we have known that a bloody Troll would come strolling through the Hogwarts castle? Besides, he definitely was just jealous he didn't get an acceptance letter." That did it, she kept her head tilted down, but moved her eyes to look at Michael, and he saw her smile. Then she stood up, said her goodbyes and left. Michael asked Harry and Ron for any work he would miss and then they did the same.

Michael's recovery was quick and smooth, and only a few days after he was released from the hospital wing, he had felt good enough that he decided he would join in on the day's lessons. Harry Ron and Hermione were all at their current class, and although Madam Pomphrey said he didn't have to go, he decided it would be best to attend and try to gain some knowledge of what he'd missed over the few days. He grabbed his Potions book from the common room and made his way back down the steps to the dungeons where the class took place. As he cracked open the door, he heard the Professor stop talking immediately, and once Michael had fully appeared from behind the door the Professor sighed, and rolled his eyes.

"Ah yes, our _other_ celebrity. Congratulations on surviving your attack against a Troll, Mr. Morgan. Ten points from Gryffindor for being late to my class. Next time, I suggest you don't go looking for another headline story. Now sit down." Michael could hear the snickering from the Slytherins and looked around the room until he saw that the seat next to Harry was empty. He readjusted his bag on his shoulder and made way across the room until he reached his seat. Once Michael sat down, Harry was the first to greet him.

"Well it's bloody good to see you. He's been having cracks at me for just taking notes on his first introductions about what we were going to learn this year and took ten points from us!" He clenched his fist, trying to mask his frustration so the Professor doesn't find another reason to deduct points from Gryffindor. Michael took out his ink and quill, along with his books and then turned to whisper to Harry.

"So this is Professor Snape? The one all the older kids told us to be careful around?" During the Sorting ceremony, they had all been warned about the worst Professor, that being Professor Snape. He hated Gryffindor's the most, but any house other than Slytherin was not one he rather fancied. They had warned the newbies about his double-Potions classes, his enjoyment in deducting points from the other houses, and that almost everyone didn't enjoy his classes. He was a tall, pale person with black hair that was perfectly straight down to his shoulders. He had small lips and a large nose that was angled perfectly downward. His lips look more like slits of paper, whether from curling them up because of anger or because those were his actual lips, no one really knew.

He glanced up to make sure Professor Snape wasn't honing in on them. It was rather odd for him and Harry to be purposefully placed next to each other. It's a different story if the Professor doesn't care who you sit with, but Michael's guess was that the Professor intended to have them paired. Twice the rise, and twice the fall. The two biggest 'celebrities'(as he called them) would be easier targets together than separated, and he did a fine job of proving that over the course of their double-Potions class. Professor Snape made straight-forward, rude, unnecessary remarks to the pair of them the entire time. He would find any flaw that they made and be sure to comment on it. So to say the two of them were relieved to finally get to leave would be an understatement. Harry and Michael were one of the last to leave, being that their seats had been purposefully placed near the front, so they met up with Ron outside the classroom. Hermione was walking far ahead, clearly one of the first to leave, and Michael knew then that her issues with Ron hadn't been dealt with yet. Before Michael and Harry were in hearing distance from each other, he whispered to him, "We need to stop their fighting." He gave a quick nod, and then they both rejoined Ron outside of the classroom.

While Ron was in the loo, Harry and Michael devised a plan to get the two together in order to talk things out and get over the petty ignoring of two people who should be friends. Harry would handle Ron, and Michael would handle Hermione. They both agreed they had better charming effects on their respective choices, so it would make things easier to get them together. Harry would keep Ron in the common room while Michael snatched Hermione out of the library and brought her there. Once they were face to face, Michael would stand by the portrait and Harry would stand near the stairs, that way neither would be able to just leave the room until the two of them talked it out. Harry and Michael thought it was rather brilliant, but they both agreed to wait on that celebration until things were panned out. Once Ron returned, Harry took out some textbooks and they started working on some Potions homework. That was his signal to go get Hermione, because Harry could only keep Ron occupied with homework for so long.

Once Michael reached the library, he searched a few rows before he found Hermione near the window seat on the table, three books sprawled out on the desk. He smiled to himself, because he sometimes had to do the same thing just for one assignment. He walked over and rested a hand on her shoulder, she looked up and when she saw it was him, her body relaxed. She put down her quill so she wasn't unintentionally ignoring him while she was working. He decided now was the time to talk.  
"So…erm… whatcha doin?" He sat down next to her and saw that it was their History of Magic essay due a week from now.

"Oh, I'm just trying to get ahead a bit. I figured if I started this, I'd be able to enjoy my weekends more, not that I really know what I'll do yet but I suppose we'll see." She looked him in the eyes, and Michael could feel them staring at him even though he wouldn't stare back at hers. He was focusing in on the essay, trying to figure out a clever way of making the cleverest girl in his year believe him.

"Look there's been an accident back at the common room with Harry's things and, well, we need your help. I've tried everything but it's just not working." He finally removed his eyes from the paper, trying to put a believable look on his face. She raised her eyebrows and replied, "What kind of 'accident'?" _Better make this good, you idiot _he thought to himself.

"Well Harry sort of… spilt his ink everywhere and I'm pretty sure Fred and George might've jinxed it too. Every time we try to clean it up, it just changes colors. Look, I just need you for a few minutes that's it." He fidgeted with his fingers, hoping she would agree. They really needed to resolve this stupid fight. "Fine, fine. But you owe me then." She gave a joking laugh and smiled at him, and then they were off to the common room. Once they entered through the portrait, Michael was surprised to see Harry and Ron still doing their Potions work. This might have been a new record for Ron. He dragged Hermione by the arm over to the couches and then, as she tried to turn around, swung her around gently so she was now in front of him and she couldn't run off to the portrait. Then, Harry stood up and made a motion towards the stairs, cutting that direction of retreat off too. Hermione gave an angry look to Harry, then to Michael, and then sat down in frustration. To this, Michael believed she had waved her white flag, so he sat down next to her. Ron stood up to go towards the stairs, clearly unaware that Harry had even moved, then did the same thing as Hermione.

Michael waited for the two of them to speak, then he decided to break the silence. "Harry and I aren't letting either of you leave until you guys fix this bloody mess. Ron, you owe someone an apology. And Hermione, well, try not to jinx him." Ron gave a look that screamed of '_save me'_ and Harry just shook his head back at him. Ron looked down at his hands in his lap, and then spoke. "I'm sorry for what I said Hermione. Truth is, I was just jealous..." Hermione's eyes widened in surprise, as did all of theirs. They expected an apology, but they hadn't expected Ron to say he was jealous. She loosened up a bit, then slouched back into the couch. Harry took that as a sign of contempt and sat down on the single-person couch. "Thank you Ron. But you needn't be jealous of me; you three are the only friends I've got."

Friends. It was honestly something he was worried about the few nights before he boarded the Hogwarts Express. He wasn't sure what to expect, but at that moment, he knew that times were only going to get better. He glanced over at Hermione, who had thrown her bag on the table when they first arrived in frustration. "Oh, by the way Hermione, I did that essay a week ago. So I'll show you mine if you help me with Astronomy. I hate that bloody subject." The four of them all laughs: two bookworms, two normal kids, but after that night they were four tight-knit friends. And although they may bicker time and again, they were all nearly inseparable.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Weeks passed, and the four friends were almost always seen together. They all were on top of their school work, and had started visiting Hagrid. While Michael was knocked unconscious from the Troll, apparently Harry had done some pretty impressive flying during his first lesson and instead of being expelled; he had been made Seeker of Gryffindor! The youngest Seeker in over a century, almost everyone was as excited for the first match as Harry's friends were. The only person who didn't seem excited was Harry, which Michael guessed was just nerves. The match wasn't until noon, and the boys were already up around 9.

"Whattaya say we go visit Hagrid, and then get somethin' to eat?" Surprisingly, it was Ron who proposed the idea. Ron would normally have asked to eat first, which surprised the both of them.

Michael shrugged his shoulders as he opened the door, while Harry relaxed a bit at the idea. "Maybe that will help me relax a bit."

Michael stood with the door open for his friends. "Oh, buzz off Harry. From the way Ron described how you can fly, you should be a Seeker for one of the professional teams."

At that, Harry smiled. He knew Ron always had a knack for over-exaggerating, and it was nice to hear he had such high regard for his friend after he was chosen as Seeker. He glanced over at Ron, who merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders. "Let's go eat, then head down to Hagrid's." Harry knew the look that would transcribe on Ron's face, and it was pure excitement. The three of them made their way down to the Great Hall, only to run into no one other than Hagrid.

"'Ello boys, where ye off ter?" The half-giant rubbed his fingers in Ron's hair; making parts of it stick up. Ron fixed his hair while Harry answered him.

"Actually we were going down to the Great Hall and then heading over to see you before I had to go to the pitch." Michael felt his stomach growl, but not loud enough for the others to hear. He was wondering if Ron felt this hungry all the time, because he sure ate like he did.

"'Arry, you look dreadful. You best be off ter the Hall and eat somethin'. An' don't worry about me, I've best be off ter go get all o' the things ready for the match. Knock 'em dead 'Arry!" To that, Hagrid walked past the three of them, and was making his way towards the doors that led outside. Harry, Ron, and Michael looked at each other, and then walked into the Great Hall. Every time they walked in, they were simply always in awe. They couldn't help but gawk up towards the candle-lit ceiling, with its enchanted displays depending on the weather. The gazed at the hundreds of plates of food that lay perfectly atop each and every table, spreading from one end to the other. They all enjoyed it when it was crowded, but when it was nearly empty was when the boys' could appreciate the Hall the most. Being able to sit wherever they chose, and eat whatever they'd liked, was something they all enjoyed. Ron always had a strategy at attacking his morning meals. He would grab a plate of whatever he fancied closest to him, then inspect the table. He would find everything that he wanted, make two plates, and then travel back to where Michael and Harry were seated. He did it almost every time, and the other boys were used to it by now. He grabbed his plate, placed food on it, and then started walking around the table. Harry and Michael sat down and Michael started eating. By the time he finished his first plate of food, Ron was back with two plates and Harry had barely touched his. Michael had just noticed that, so he was the first to comment.

"Come on Harry, you've got to eat something. It's your first Quidditch match ever. Nerves are just nerves, everybody has em." Harry looked up from his plate, and grabbed a piece of toast and started half-heartedly biting it, hoping the food would just dissolve in his mouth so he had to put less focus into eating than he did worrying about the match. "Chew Harry, or do mummy Ronnie and I have to do that for you?" Harry shot Michael a look, and finally started eating. At ten o'clock the owls normally did their morning sweep-ins, and Michael immediately saw Hedwig carrying a huge package, with Ollie next to her carrying much smaller mail. Hedwig was so strong that she was able to hover over the table and lightly place the package on it, then landed next to Harry to get his affection before lifting off and heading out. Ollie dropped off a newspaper and a letter and then did the same as Hedwig, clearly searching for her missing affection, then lifted off as well. Michael put his mail aside, and was staring at the package Harry had gotten. He looked almost as surprised as his friends. "But I… I never get mail."

Ron looked like he was about to fall off the chair waiting for Harry to open it. "Come on, Harry, open it! I think I know what it is!" To that, Harry reached up and started tearing apart the wrapping to reveal a broomstick. Ron made a gasping sound and Michael just laughed at him. "My God, Harry! That's a Nimbus 2000!" The three of them stared at it for a while, and then Michael interrupted their gazing.

"Does is say who it came from?" Harry searched from a letter or a signature, but there was nothing. He started searching around the room, until he saw Professor McGonagall smiling down at the boys. Harry gave her a smile and nodded his head, then picked up the broom and made way to leaving the Great Hall. Ron moaned in disagreement but left the table as well, and the three went down to fly on Harry's new broom next to the Quidditch pitch. An hour passed, and by then it was time for the players to meet so Harry grabbed his broom and said goodbye to his friends. Michael and Ron decided to go get Hermione before you got lost in her studies, but sure enough as they started to make their way back to the castle, she appeared over the hill. She smiled at the site of Ron and Michael, and then they waited as she started her walk down. Once she reached them they all said their 'hello's' and asking how their mornings were. Ron finally interrupted, "Harry got a new broomstick from Professor McGonagall! A Nimbus 2000 Hermione, you should have seen how fast it is!"

She laughed and had to remind Ron where they were. "Ron, we're about to see Harry fly the broom in his first Quidditch match, obviously I'll see how fast it is. Although I did read about broomsticks before coming to Hogwarts and it says that…" Hermione started rambling about the Nimbus 2000 and it's specifics that made it unique from other brooms, and to the Michael knew that Ron wasn't listening. It was flashy, fast, and new and that was all Ron needed to know in order to enjoy it. Once Hermione finished, Michael suggested they make their way to the stands so they didn't have to get the back rows. Hermione and Ron agreed, and then they made their way to the Gryffindor stands, and were lucky enough to run into Draco Malfoy heading to the Slytherin stands.

"Ah, look who it is. Weasley, Morgan, and little miss Granger. Coming to watch Harry's demise, are you? I, myself, hope that Harry doesn't happen to fall off his broom. At that height, it'd be a nasty fall to survive." Crabbe and Goyle were standing behind him, one on either side, and they both laughed at Draco's terrible jokes.

Michael was the one to reply: Ron was too busy clenching his fists while Hermione looked like she was about to slap him. "No, actually we came here to watch the youngest Seeker in a century make history. Something that you, unfortunately, will never be able to say for yourself." He gave a dirty smile at Draco, and Draco replied back with a look of disgust. "For someone as highly regarded as you, Morgan, I'd expect you to travel with the proper wizards, rather than your current pack of dogs. They might as well beg for your attention, since you're the only one who gives them any."

Ron had lost it, made a leap at Malfoy but Michael made sure to grab him and pull him back. "Piss off Malfoy!" Ron yelled as Michael kept pulling him back. Malfoy and his crew laughed at him, and he was about to reply before Michael interrupted him. "At least their loyal for me." Malfoy had believed he had won, so he snapped his fingers and Crabbe and Goyle turned and left. Malfoy was close behind them before he turned around and said, "Next time, the three of you won't be standing at the end of our conversation" and left. Michael finally let go of Ron when he felt he wasn't going to lunge himself at anyone anytime soon.

"You should've let me have a go at him!" Ron was pacing back and forth, clearly distraught at what Malfoy said.

Michael cleaned himself up; fixing his robes that Ron had wrinkled up while he was trying to break free from his hold. "Ron, do you honestly think you could have taken on Crabbe Goyle and Malfoy with only me and Hermione to defend you? No, the smarter move was to just mess with his head, like he did with yours."

Ron's face lit up at the comment. "Like _Mine_?! He called Hermione and me a pack of dogs. Obviously he got into my bloody head; I wanted to hit the little bloke right in his face until you stopped me."

Hermione finally butted in, apparently finding her voice again. "Ron, Michael's right. He was trying to egg us on, he knew he had a better chance in this situation and he was trying to take advantage of that. Just relax, Michael handled things. Now let's go to the stands before we get screwed and have to sit up top where we won't be able to see."

Ron calmed down on their walk up to the stands, and lucky enough they got front row seats to Harry's first Quidditch match, and before they knew it, the Gryffindor's were all flying out into the air. Led by Oliver Wood and Harry, they poured out over the pitch and they all did their own pre-game flying patterns. Harry merely paced around the field once then flew over to his starting point. Then the Slytherin's came out, did their pre-flight patterns and before they knew it, Madam Hooch was on the ground letting out all of the balls for the match, letting the Golden Snitch out first, giving it a head start to find a place to escape to, then letting out the two Bludgers that nearly knocked three players off their brooms already, and then she grabbed the Quaffle, walked into the middle of the pitch, blew her whistle and threw it up into the air. Angelina Johnson snatched the Quaffle out of the air and tossed it back to Alicia Finnet, who took off towards the Slytherin goal posts. The played a game of catch, tossing it back and forth in order to avoid any oncoming Slytherin players trying to steal it. Finally Angelina made a dive towards the ground and then a quick pull-up, caught the Quaffle from Alicia and then wound up her throw, before blasting it through the goal posts that the Slytherin keeper wasn't fast enough to save. Michael, Hermione and Ron went wild, as did the rest of the Gryffindor's. They looked up to see Harry on his broom clapping, then stopped and started searching for the Snitch again. The game went on, and Gryffindor was up 70-30 before the Slytherin captain made a bold move. He snatched the bat from one of his Beaters and slammed a bludger straight at Oliver Wood, who stopped it but fell straight to the ground after that. Madam Hooch wasn't watching that, so the game continued on. Angelina Johnson caught the first ball headed towards the goal, but she wasn't able to stop the next few attempts. Out of what felt like thin air, Gryffindor's lead was now only 10 points, leaving them at 70-60.

Harry was pissed. He knew the only way they would win this game now was if he caught the Snitch. And he was more determined than ever to do so. Oliver had been great to him as he introduced Quidditch and coached him on the rules, and he was going to be sure to win this game for him. The nerves that were overcoming him prior to the game had long been subdued and now was the time for Harry to make his move. He was searching near the towers that the students were seated in, he saw Michael and Ron and Hermione wave at him, then saw Michael's head turn, and sure enough, the Golden Snitch was flying around his head, and then made a dive towards the ground. Harry took off immediately, heading straight for the tower, then doing an upside-down loop and now he was making a straight dive towards the ground. The snitch was fast, and it was able to be extremely maneuverable, so when it was about to hit the ground it made a swift change in direction so it started heading towards the center of the pitch. Harry knew he had to do something quickly, so he placed his feet on the back-end of his broom, and thrust downward, making the broom change directions almost on a perfect 90 degree angle. He kept his feet on the back-end, with his hands on the front, and once he was close enough, he made a leap for the Snitch. He rolled about twenty feet once he hit the ground, and then lay with his eyes facing the sky. He felt like he was going to throw-up. He rolled over, placed his weight on his knees and his hands on the ground for support, and then he barfed. Or so he thought. Instead of vomit covering the area, the Golden Snitch sat in front of him, its wings constricted and not able to move. Harry picked it up and heard Lee Jordan on the announcer screaming "HARRY'S GOT THE SNITCH! GRYFFINDOR WINS! EAT THAT SLYTHER… sorry Professor." Harry stood up; still looking at the snitch, then raised his hand in the air for the stadium to see.

That night in the common room was one of Harry's best. The Gryffindor's had lifted him up above their heads and were all patting him and asking to see the Snitch. It was as if Gryffindor wasn't use to beating Slytherin at Quidditch, or anything else for that matter. They had been last the past few years in Quidditch and in the house cup winnings. Harry had given them all hope to a new beginning, and for that he was awarded with numerous amounts of greetings and congratulations. He finally got some time away from the crowd, and made his way over to Michael, Ron and Hermione. "So… how did I do?"

Ron was the first to speak, practically screaming from his excitement. "How'd you do? You were bloody brilliant out there Harry! And you thought you weren't going to be good at Quidditch, are you crazy?! That move you did when you were in a dive was absolutely mental! And yet you pulled it off as if you had practiced that before!"

Everyone rolled their eyes and laughed at Ron, and then Hermione interrupted. "Actually I knew Harry wasn't going to be awful. It's in your blood."

To that, Harry was curious. "What do you mean, 'it's in my blood?'" Hermione merely shrugged and said, "Follow me, I'll show you."

The three of them followed Hermione to a trophy case on the fourth floor, and to Harry's surprise, there in the middle sat a trophy with his father's name on it. 'James Potter. Gryffindor Chaser and Captain. 1971-1978." Harry had no idea his father played Quidditch, or that he had been a captain. For a moment, he was too busy gazing to hear Hermione and Ron talking to him. Then he snapped out of his trance and they all left, because it was time to head down to the Great Hall for their dinner feast.

As they were walking to the Great Hall, they ran into Professor Quirll. He had an awkward walk and the turban that was wrapped around his head look limp and not like his usual self. He stopped at the sight of them, and then waited for them to walk over to him. "H-h-hello Mr. P-Potter. Excellent j-job today down at t-t-the Quidditch game. Can't tell you how p-pleased I was to see you alr-right." Ron gave Michael a look and he started to giggle, but held it in best he could. Everyone knew Professor Quirll was quiet and had a stuttering problem, he normally tried not to speak at all unless he was teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts, so Harry must've done something rather brilliant for him to break that comfort zone.

"Thank you Professor. If you don't mind my asking, are you alright? I've noticed you hurt your leg and you've had a limp ever since that Troll broke into the castle." Harry pointed down at the Professor's leg, and he immediately pulled his cloak over it to hide whatever was underneath it then he gave his reply.

"Yes I'm a-alright. Just a c-c-cut is all. Nothing Madam Pomphrey c-cant m-mend. Mr. M-Morgan, I f-f-found these in the Great H-Hall earlier. Here y-y-you are. I best be o-off." He started limping past the four of them, and they all gave one another quizzical looks, wondering what was up with their Professor at the mentioning of his leg. Michael looked at what the Professor had handed him to find that it was his letters and newspaper that Ollie had dropped off. He must have forgotten them at the table in the excitement over Harry's new broom. "Does anyone else think that was a bit off?" Hermione asked and they all agreed with her but no one had an explanation.

Once they made it down to the Great Hall, Ron started to dig in to the food immediately. Harry and Hermione sat down and were talking about Astronomy class later that evening, and Michael started to read his letters. The first was from his father,

"_Hello son. I hope that school has treated you well and you are enjoying it as much as I did when I first went to Hogwarts. From what you told me in your last letter, Hogwarts has become much more home to you than being here with me, and I'm glad to hear that. It's nice that you have made new friends as well, and I'm sure that you and Harry Potter have made quite a duo at school, along with your other friends Ron and Hermione. I'm not sure if you and Harry have talked about your pasts but if you have, I'm sure he has found it easier to confide in someone that knows what he is dealing with. Anyways, enough talk about that I hear that you're quite the bookworm at school from some of my pals at the Ministry. Mr. Weasley tells me that you have been helping Ron with some of his homework assignments, very well done son. Anyways I have to be off, I've just received word of a kidnapping from one You Know Who's previous Cruciatis victims. The second this week, something doesn't feel right. Well enjoy the rest of school until Christmas, which you are welcome to stay there if you'd like to be with your friends. Or they can come here, whichever you and they decide. _

_With love, Your Father."_

Michael was puzzled at the mention of 'You Know Who' in his letters, but he pushed it aside and started scanning the front page of the paper for anything interesting until he came across the headlines. "VICTIM OF YOU KNOW WHO KIDNAPPED." Michael's eye's had widened and he started to read the article.

"_The Care of Magical Creatures Professor at Hogwarts named Arlington Fernsby has been kidnapped. No one knows who did it or where he was taken, but it is known that he was taken from the town near Hogwarts known as Hogsmeade. There were no witnesses to the kidnapping, and there are still questions as to the kidnapper's intentions, but what is known is that the kidnapping occurred extremely close to the Hogwarts, putting students in danger. Auror's Kevin Morgan and Kingsley Shacklebolt are heading into the town for answer. '_Story continued on page 8.'"

Above the text was a moving photo of his father and Kingsley examining where the crime had taken place. Michael looked up to see Hermione across from him staring at him, clearly knowing that something was up. "What is it, Michael? What's wrong?" Harry and Ron stopped eating and looked up at Michael, who then moved his eyes from one body to the next.

"The Professor that gave me my Hogwarts acceptance letter… well he's on the front page of the Daily Prophet. He's been kidnapped."


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

"Who the bloody hell would want to kidnap a Hogwarts teacher? What could they possibly gain from that?" Ron didn't understand how important this news was, and Hermione was the one to explain.

"Ron, think about it, the Professor knew how to get past the Hogwarts defenses that keep bad witches and wizards out. By kidnapping the Professor, they could torture him until he tells the kidnapper what he wants to know. Hogwarts is the safest place to be when there's a crisis, but if they know how to get into Hogwarts, then things could get really complicated really fast." Ron seemed to understand, and he stuttered before he spoke.

"You... you don't think the kidnapper wants to kidnap one of _US _do you?" Harry and Michael looked at one another and apparently they were both thinking the same thing. Michael looked back at Ron and spoke, "It's hard to tell but if it were one of You Know Who's old followers, maybe they're after Harry and me. Ya'know, to finish the job he never did…" Michael looked down. He didn't want to think about this, and he knew Harry didn't want to either. But if anyone were in danger more than anyone, it would be the two of them and they knew it. They had all been talking on a bench outside in the school's courtyard before Draco Malfoy came strutting over. "So Morgan, I saw your daddy on the front page trying to solve a kidnapping. Where was your dad, Potter?" Harry stood up, as did Michael, and Hermione was the one who stood in front of them to keep them from giving Malfoy what he had rightfully coming. "I would watch your tone, Malfoy." It was Harry who said it, and none of them had really expected it, but with Harry, surprises came in all sorts of forms.

Malfoy laughed and merely waved him off. "Please Potter; you haven't got the guts to do anything to me. And if you do, you'll be in detention for weeks. As for you Morgan, I'll just have my father talk with the Ministry and your daddy will be out of a job. Ah, the perks of being a pureblood are just so sweet, aren't they? Oh that's right, Granger isn't one." This time Ron stepped in front of her, and lucky enough Hagrid came over to break things up without even realizing it. "'Ello Ron, Hermione. What's got all'a ya's rattled up?" Malfoy smirked and left them, and they all sat back down on the benches while Hagrid stood above them. "Nothing, just this Ministry business about Professor Fernsby has us thinking. That's all." Hagrid didn't seem to grasp what they meant, but he just nodded and continued talking.

"Yer know, I might have somethin' that'll cheers you up! Come with me." He grabbed Ron with his right hand, Michael with his left and lifted them up. Apparently, he wasn't really asking so much as telling. Harry and Hermione looked at one another, and then stood up and followed Hagrid down to his cabin. He reached into a massive jar, and removed something that was covered with a blanket. He removed the blanket to reveal a giant egg. "It's a dragon egg! I won it off a gent' down at the pub. Not too sure 'ow, I'm not ter good at cards but I've always wanted to raise a dragon." Ron was inspecting the egg like it was something he'd been secretly interested in all this time. "This isn't just any egg, Hagrid. It's a Hungarian Horntail! You need to be careful with these; they're bloody vicious they are. Me brother, Charlie, is studying dragons in Romania and we go and visit him sometimes."

Hagrid scratched his head and walked over to his tea pot to fill it up with water. Hermione looked confused and looked as if she had a question to ask. Sure enough, a few came out. "Hagrid, you said you won this down at the pub? Which pub?" He spoke without turning around, as he was filling up the tea pot with water at the sink. "Well, from the Hog's Head up in Hogsmeade." She looked around at Ron, Harry, and Michael then asked her next question. "And what did he look like? Do you remember?"

Hagrid turned around and placed the pot on the stove then sat down in his chair next to the table, which his dog Fang then jumped on top of his lap and laid down. "Well err… no. Ya see, he 'ad his hood up, so I couldn't make out 'is face. Nice bloke though, asking about Hogwarts and surch, wonderin' who 'elped make is so secure and all. I told him 'at Professor Dumbledore recruited Professor Fernsby just after the First Wizarding War, and not 'any people know 'at Professor Fernsby was taken by You Know Who to try ter gain the allegiances of some o' the creatures. Burt he wouldn't do it. Professor Fernsby helped Dumbledore put up the invisible walls around the castle grounds, except the Forbidden Forest so the animals in it wouldn't be harmed if they wandered past the wall." Hermione's eyes widened.

"You told the stranger all this? Hagrid that could've been the person that kidnapped Professor Fernsby, trying to bribe you into telling him some of the secrets to Hogwarts!" Michael looked from Harry, to Ron, back to Harry, and then to Hagrid. Something wasn't right here. It seems a bit convenient that this stranger just happened to have a dragon egg in his pocket and he had to bring it up. "Hagrid, don't you think it's a bit odd that a stranger just happened to have exactly what you've been looking for? I mean, it's a bit odd that a stranger would be carrying around a dragon egg just for the hell of it."

Hermione spoke almost instantly after Michael spoke. "Exactly, Hagrid. Something's not right about that. You need to tell Dumbledore what happened!" At this Hagrid stood up, causing the dog to fall off his lap. He waved his arm and said, "Absolutely not. Your not abut to blame the kidnappin' of Professor Fernsby on me just 'cause I won a dragon egg in a game o' cards. No sir." He went over to check his tea, and then Hermione stood up and said "Fine. But someone else could get hurt in all this Hagrid. Let's just hope it isn't you." And left his cabin. Michael stood up and followed her, while Harry and Ron stayed behind to have a cup of tea with Hagrid to try to calm him down. Hermione had a way of rattling people up because everything she said was logical. It all made sense, and the last thing Harry and Ron wanted to happen to Hagrid was to lose it.

Michael ran after Hermione to catch up to her, and just as he did she started her rant that he knew was about to come. "He being silly, worrying about himself rather than the whole school's safety. Hagrid is my friend but honestly, you have to agree here that things aren't right. He should tell Dumbledore about this before something terrible happens. Hell, I should tell Dumbledore. We all know how he is, and we all know he would be more than understanding about it, but he would also put up the necessary precautions that this school needs."

Michael had a hard time finding a rhythm to his step. He was half-walking and half-jogging to keep up with her, and it was distracting him to say the least. "Hermione… you just… have to… understand where he's… coming from. Look stop." He grabbed her arm to make her relax to a halt, and when she did he finally had time to speak. "Look at it from Hagrid's point of view. Hogwarts is his home, he would never let something happen to it, and if something did it would hurt him more than we can imagine. Yes, I think what he did was idiotic but if there's something you really want sitting right in front of you don't you think you'd lose some part of that brilliant mind of yours because of a pull towards that something? Hagrid was lured into that egg by whoever played that game of cards with him, but that may not mean it's something we have to worry about right now. Just try to be rational about this." He let go of her arm, without even realizing he had gripped onto it the entire time he spoke. When he released, Hermione crossed her arms and looked down at her feet.

"I 'spose you're right. It just doesn't make sense to me, I guess. I'm going to head up to the common room and then to the library if you want to come join me later." She turned and left Michael standing there, and then he turned back around and went into Hagrid's cabin to have some tea with his friends.

The week following kept all of their minds at bay, studying for their test before the holidays and making sure that all their essays and work had been completed on time. Although for Michael and Hermione, they were more worried about if their work was good enough, and were double and triple checking it, while Harry and Ron were too busy trying to catch glances of their friend's work in order to help their papers. Hermione would only help them build their own paragraphs, while Michael was much more lenient about them copying and would whole-heartedly give them his work, just so much as they changed enough things so the Professor's wouldn't notice. After all, you can't have someone else create your writing style. At last, the final class had ended before holiday break, and the four of them headed back to the common room.

"So, what are the three boys' doing for their holiday?" Hermione asked. Michael wasn't sure what Harry was going to do, but he was sure that Ron was going home.

"Actually, my parents are visiting my brother Charlie in Romania this holiday so I've decided to stay at school with Harry over Christmas holidays. How 'bout you Michael?"

He tugged on his shoulder strap of his bag and then replied, "Well, I was planning on going home for the holidays. But my father said he wouldn't mind if I stayed here to enjoy it with you guys." They had just reached the stairs and were making their way up before an idea popped into Michael's head. "Instead of us staying here, how 'bout you guys come to my house for the holidays? My father already told me he wouldn't mind, plus he's an Auror at the Ministry, I bet he'd have loads of stories to tell us! Maybe we could get some answers on this kidnapping of Professor Fernsby, since my father is the Auror working on it." He looked at Ron first, then Harry, and noticed two opposite faces. Ron looked rather excited about the idea, while Harry on the other hand looked a bit upset. "I'm sorry Harry, I didn't mean to upset you or anything…" He wasn't sure what was wrong, but then Harry raised his voice.

"It's not that, I just don't want to be a burden on your father and get in the way of your celebrations of Christmas." He looked down as he walked up the steps, trying to avoid any eye contact. Michael already knew what he was going to reply to him. "Harry, if anything, with the two of you their it'll be one of the best holiday's I ever had. And besides, I wasn't so much asking as I was telling." He elbowed Harry lightly on the side and Harry smiled and elbowed him back, pushing him into Ron who then fell into Hermione. "Good, now that that's settled I suggest we all go and pack so we don't have to do it later. Any takers?" Hermione agreed, and Harry nodded, but Michael swore he could've heard Ron make a groan, and then a half-hearted 'alright'. Michael was actually excited for Christmas this year. It wasn't exactly his or his father's favorite holiday, maybe because Michael's mother wasn't there to celebrate it with him or his father .But for some odd reason, he felt like this Christmas was going to be different, perhaps even change his views on the holiday all together. Harry and Ron were practically been like his family since he had gotten to Hogwarts, who better than to spend his holidays with.

After they all got to the common room, Hermione went up her respective stairs, and the boys' went up the other. Once they got to their dormitory, they all started packing their things, making sure not to forget anything, until suddenly Harry spoke. "What about Hedwig? I don't want to leave her here over the holiday; she'll probably hate me when I come back." Michael straightened his posture since he was previously bent over his bed, and then looked at Harry. "You can take her with us; it'll be good for Hedwig and Ollie to hunt together, rather than being alone all day." To that, he nodded and they all finished their packing. After that, they went down to the common room to find Fred and George giving out mysterious toys to Seamus and Neville. They instructed Neville to squeeze the telescope, and suddenly a tiny fist erupted from the end of it and slammed Neville square in the eye. The twins and Seamus started laughing hysterically, and Harry Ron and Michael couldn't help but laugh either. Then the Weasley's pulled themselves together, and handed Neville a bottle of something.

"Bruise removal paste. It's the only way to get that off your face." Then they walked away, and stopped in front of Ron, Harry, and Michael. "We've been enjoying those. Let's hope mum doesn't find out that we're actually using them or she'll have a fit." Fred said it in between his giggles, and then George interrupted. "So, Ron, are you staying here for Christmas? Angelina Johnson is having a bunch of people over her house, and we were thinking we'd just go there since mum and dad are off to Romania again."

Ron raised his eyebrows, and then gave his reply. "Nope, Michael's dad invited Harry and I over for the holidays. And does mum know you two going to Angelina's?" The twins looked at one another, then back at Ron and replied simultaneously. "Nope." Then Fred continued. "And we plan to keep it that way." George winked, and then the two twins headed up the stairs to their dormitory. They sat down on the couch and started discussing things like past Christmases and then Michael and Ron started arguing about professional Quidditch, then Ron pulled over the table with a chess board on it to play Harry in wizard's chess. They waited until four o'clock, and then got ready to head down to the group meeting to head over to the train. The train ride back was similar; they discussed random topics, but were never bored by them. Sometimes Ron and Michael would argue about something stupid that they disagreed on and then Harry would buy something off the trolley for them and they would talk about the different sweets, and enjoy the Bertie Bott's Every Flavour Beans as each of them would enjoy or endure the different flavors. Once they arrived back at platform 9 and three-quarters, Michael's father was waiting for him just like all the other parents, but not only for his son but two of his friends as well.

"Well 'ello boys" Michael's father stood almost two head's taller than all of them, so he was looking down at them.

Harry and Ron both replied with, "Hello, Mr. Morgan."

He waved a hand at them and said, "Please, Mr. Morgan was my father's name. Call me Kevin, now how about we do a vanishing charm and sent all your things straight to the house? That oughtta' make things easier." He waved his wand, and sure enough everything vanished before their eyes. "Alright, now let's get to the car." They ran through the wall, and started walking through King's Cross until they finally exited and made their way through the parking lot. Once they got there, Michael took the passenger seat while Ron and Harry took to the back seats, Ron on the driver's side and Harry to his other. He started the engine, and they were off.

"So, tell me boys, what was the best part of the first half of this term?" Kevin was interested, after all he had felt the same excitement plenty of times before.

Harry spoke first. "Well, I'd have to say my first Quidditch match."

Kevin's eyes widened, "Ah, so you're on the Gryffindor team? Sorry, Michael failed to mention that haha. What position Harry?"

Michael laughed and then Harry answered. "I play Seaker. My first match we won so it was a pretty cool moment."

"Ah, Seaker. I remember when I use to play Quidditch. I actually played under your dad, Harry. Brilliant, he was. Always knew of a quick way to score, and if things were rough he always had a way around them. Practically won every Quidditch cup for 6 straight years 'cause of him. I'm sure you're following in his footsteps." Kevin checked the rearview, he wasn't sure how Harry would react to any mention of his dad, and he hoped he didn't upset him in the first ten minutes of meeting him. Harry was looking out the window, then looked down into his lap and Kevin swore he saw him smile.

"Ron, how bout you? What was your favorite part?" Kevin averted his eyes back onto the road and Ron replied after a few seconds of 'Hmmm'ing. "I 'spose it was helping defeat that Troll. Not sure how we managed, but it will probably be my finest moment of the whole year." Kevin was aobut to speak before Michael did instead. "Actually, if it weren't for Harry and Michael, I'd probably be dead from that Troll."

Then Harry butted in, "Well, if you hadn't been protecting Hermione then you wouldn't have been in that situation to begin with." Kevin gave a quick glance at his son, then said sarcastically, "Oh gees, does Michael have a crush already? I figured I'd have at least two more years before this happened."

Kevin, Ron and Harry laughed, but Michael's face turned slightly pink and he looked out the window as he smiled from their joking. Kevin changed the subject back to their favorite parts of the term. "And how about you Michael? What was yours?"

Michael had to think for a few seconds before he was certain. Then he answered, "Probably after the Troll attack, when the four of us all became really good friends." Kevin kept his eyes on the road but couldn't help smiling at his son's loyalty and friendship. Then he pulled into the driveway and the four of them exited the car and entered the house. Kevin was starting to think this might be a holiday to remember.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

A few days past until it was finally Christmas Eve, and the three boys were all enjoying some time away from school. Over the past few days while Michael's father had been at work, the three of them were outside in the back yard building snow forts, having snowball fights, practicing some of their spells from school, including the Incendio charm, which they frequently used once they came in from outside to light the fire. Harry enjoyed cooking lunch for them, and sometimes when Kevin came home Harry would have dinner ready for all of them. Kevin was never a very good cook, so to come home to a fresh meal waiting for him that was like going to a top-rated restaurant was something he had no arguments against. Besides, he could just cast a spell afterwards and the dishes would clean themselves.

On Christmas Eve, Kevin came home early to find Ollie and Hedwig perched atop the roof, which he seemed to notice each afternoon when he came home. It was almost as if they were on the look-out for something, perhaps hunting for food together. He was glad that they were getting along, the last thing he wanted to deal with when he came home were two owls trying to attack each other. He opened the door to find Harry and Ron playing wizard's chess, which wasn't unusual but Ron was almost always the victor, although Harry and Michael sometimes had luck on their side. He dropped his suitcase on the ground next to the door, along with his shoes, and then walked towards the kitchen to start cooking dinner. "Don't worry about it Mr. Morgan, let me just finish this game and I'll cook." Kevin shook his head and laughed, "Please, Harry it's quite alright. You are the guest, after all, not the other way around. Lately I've been feeling like it's the other way around, it was quite enjoyable actually." He waved his wand and a few pots landed on the stove, along with the fridge opening and some meats and vegetables levitated out and landed on the counter. "Oh, and please, you and Ron can call me Kevin. Am I really that old looking that you need to call me Mr. Morgan? Blah makes my hair's feel gray already." They all laughed and then Harry made a diagonal move of his queen. "Check-mate. _Finally._ He's beaten me thirteen times today, it's ridiculous."

Ron stood up and switched seats with Michael, and then Michael casted a _Reparo_ on the chess pieces, and re-arranged them to their original positions. Then, since Harry had won, he got to play as the white pieces and make the first move. Once dinner was ready, the four of them sat at the dinner table and started to dig in. Finally, Michael gained enough courage to finally ask his father what he and his two friends and been dying to learn more about. "Dad… have you heard anything on those kidnapping cases? Particularly Professor Fernsby." His dad slowed his chew, then swallowed and looked up. He saw three pairs of eyes zoned directly on him, and so he placed his fork down and wiped his mouth with his napkin before he spoke.

"Honestly, it's hard to say. The Ministry is putting a very large amount of people into finding Professor Fernsby, because what he knows about Hogwarts is crucial to its protection. But as of right now, the only leads we have is that he was last seen with Hagrid heading to the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade." Kevin picked up his fork and started eating again.

The three boys all exchanged worried looks, and all of their eyes widened, but Harry was the first to give them all '_the look´ _that told them to fix their faces before Kevin caught on to something. Harry asked the next question. "Was Professor Fernsby… well, _seen_ with anyone else in Hogsmeade?" Kevin kept his fork in hand this time and didn't raise his eyes but kept them focus on the food on his fork.

"Nope, although the owner of the Hog's Head said there was someone who kept his hood on all night, but that doesn't exactly help us. Said he was playing Hagrid in some card game, the two of them got piss drunk, and then they left together. Not much more we know, I'm afraid." He raised his fork and continued to eat his meal. The boys all looked at one another again, with the same worried expressions on their faces, then they continued eating, trying to bring up pointless conversation to steer it away from the kidnapping. Later that night, when Kevin was up in his room reading, the boys took to discussing what they had been told. "Maybe Hermione was right; maybe we need to tell Dumbledore about what happened with Hagrid." Michael was worried: even though it was holiday break, what if the kidnapper came once the students returned to Hogwarts? It wasn't a risk that he was willing to take. But Harry interrupted him, "Look, even with that we don't exactly know if the kidnapper stayed in Hogsmeade once he did the kidnapping. Besides, loads of wizards do creepy things like that all the time, they feel more protected by it I guess." Harry saw Ron looking a bit queasy so he decided to change the subject. "Look, let's worry about this another time. Tonight is Christmas Eve, and tomorrow is Christmas. We'll be sure to touch back on this when we get back to Hogwarts and talk to Hermione about it." As they all agreed that was the best thing to do, they all went to their respective rooms; Ron and Harry sharing the guest room, and went to sleep.

Michael awoke to none other than Ollie tapping her beak on the window. He groaned and rolled over towards it, unlocked it and opened the window to allow Ollie to fly over to her cage that he now left open. The cold wind bashed against his face, and he quickly shut the window and threw the blankets over his head. Then, after a few attempts at trying to fall back asleep, he gave up and left his room. He walked down the stairs, only to find Harry already awake and sitting on the couch alone. Michael scratched his eyes, still a bit dazed from his morning (he wasn't a morning person) and then made way for the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea. "You 'ant anythin'?" He moaned to Harry, and Harry shook his head no. After he had his cup made, he took a seat in the armchair across from Harry and took a few sips. "Why are you up so early? I expected you to be asleep for another century." Michael laughed at Harry, he knew him all too well. Harry smiled and put his feet up on the couch and laid his head down on a pillow he brought out with him from the guest room.

"Since no one else is awake, how about I give you a present now and you give me one? We'll just pick random ones, but I'm too anxious to sit and wait for those fools to wake up." Out of the corner of his ears, he heard a groan and then turned to see Ron standing in the hallway. "I 'eard' at." He rubbed his eyes like Michael had, and then took a seat next to Harry, who had removed his feet from the couch. Harry replied to Michael, "Sure, might as well. Will your dad be mad?" Michael smiled and answered him, "So long as we have a hot pot ready for him, I think he'll be fine with it." Harry stood up and inspected the presents under the tree, then handed Michael and Ron one each, and grabbed one of his own. Michael and Ron both immediately tore their gifts open, but Harry just sat their staring at his. "Oh gods, another sweater from me mum. She makes one of these bloody things every year." He raised up the gift to reveal a maroon sweater with a yellow R sowed on the front. Then Michael told them his gift. "It's from my dad. I'm pretty sure it's a spell book." Ron gave him a quizzical look, "How do you know?" Michael raised the book up and read the title. "Well, it's called 'Spells and Enchantments That Will Save Your Life. _NOT FOR CHILDREN._" Ron smirked and replied "Wicked" and Harry laughed at him. Then Ron and Michael looked to see what Harry got, before realizing he hadn't opened it. "What's wrong, Harry?" Ron asked.

Harry looked down at the gift sitting in his lap and then answered. "Well, it's just that… I've never gotten a gift before. Well, I got a cake from Hagrid once, but he had sat on it. Although it was all the same to me. But, well… I have an actual gift on Christmas Day. And there isn't even a name from who it's from." He looked down again, searching it for some clue as to who it was from before Michael interrupted his searches. "Open it, Harry. Don't worry about that right now, it has your name on it, it was clearly meant for you." Harry sighed, realizing once again that Michael's judgment was almost as spot-on as Hermione's. He unwrapped the gift before he revealed a very old cloak: soft and smooth in material. He inspected it like he had before he opened it, before Kevin came down the stairs. "Ah, I see you three didn't take any time before opening your gifts. What's that Harry?" Harry lifted the cloak in the air and Kevin's jaw dropped slightly. "Dad, do you know what that is?" Michael could tell his dad had some type of answer. Kevin walked over and grabbed the cloak to feel it in his hands then answered. "That, right there, is your father's old invisibility cloak, Harry. I had seen your father with it when we went on our adventures but I never thought you'd somehow… well, try it on Harry!" Harry grabbed the cloak by the top, and then wrapped it around his body. Once he was fully covered, neck down to his feet, Ron and Michael gasped. Harry immediately turned around worriedly and asked "What is it?!" Ron pointed towards Harry's waist and he looked down to find that it was missing. In fact, all he saw was the floor. He immediately turned around and looked at Kevin for answers.

"Like I said, son, it was your father's." Kevin smiled at Harry, and then walked into the kitchen to get his tea. Harry uncloaked himself, and sat down on the couch with a huge smile across his face. He may not have known where this gift came from, but it was by-far the best gift he could ever have hoped for. After they all opened their gifts, Kevin came back from the kitchen and spoke to them. "Harry and Michael, I have one last gift for you. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to wrap them since they were just owl delivered to me this morning, but let me go get them." He exited the room, and when he came back, he had two pictures in either had. He gave one to Harry, and the other to Michael. "Harry, you're mother and father is on the left, and Michael, your mum and I am on the right. This was taken at Hogwarts, right outside the Great Hall during our seventh year, graduation dance. I asked Dumbledore for a person favor, and he went through his archives to copy and send these to me. Now, Michael, you will have your mum wherever you go. And Harry, now you have a part of time where your mother and father were living one of the best moments in their lives: besides having you of course." Michael smiled at the picture in his hand, and his father rubbed his hand in his hair. Harry was doing the same, and then he stood up, and gave Mr. Morgan a hug, and Kevin did the same back.

"And now for you Ron." Ron squinted his eyebrows in confusion. "Oh, come on. You didn't honestly thing I'd let these two gits get the last gift did you? Your gift is wrapped up in the guestroom, shouldn't be hard to miss." Ron looked utterly lost, "But I was just in the guestroom earlier?" Kevin laughed and walked into the kitchen, and then Ron left the room, and came back with a massive rectangular package. He unwrapped the paper to find a rectangular cardboard box, and then he tore it open to reveal a broomstick. "My god, this is a Nimbus 2000! I can't accept this; this must've cost you a fortune!" Ron turned to face Kevin, who was casually sipping his tea. He placed the cup down, with a smile on his face, and turned back to Ron. "Well we all know Michael can't fly to save his life, so if Harry is going to be Seaker, he's going to need one of his mates by his side next year. And besides, money is of no concern to me. But if you really want to make it up to me, be sure to tell your father to invite us over sometime. Oh and you might want to owl your dad and tell him he's getting a raise at the Ministry. Tell him Merry Christmas from me." He waved a hand at Ron, and then opened the Daily Prophet that lay on the counter and continued to drink his tea. This was by-far the best Christmas the three boys had ever had, and the best Christmas Kevin had ever had as well.

The three boys spend the next couple of days engulfed in their new gifts. Ron spend most of his time playing wizard's chess against no one, because the new chess set he had was enchanted so only one player was needed, but could easily be undone if two wanted to play. Harry spent his time reading a few Quidditch books that Hermione had gotten him, and Michael was engulfed in the spell book his father had given him. Finally, the day came where they would be returning to Hogwarts at last. They packed all their things, and Kevin waved his wand and the luggage all disappeared and then they heard the trunk of the car slam shut. They all entered into the car again, same as they had when they were coming home from King's Cross and were off. After they arrived at King's Cross, they ran into Hermione and her parents, and the introductions began. Before long, Kevin was talking with Mr. and Mrs. Granger about their dental practices and things that Ron had no idea about. Then the Grangers asked about Kevin and where he was from, what school he went to before Hogwarts, and what his current job was. It was easy to explain the first two, but explaining being an 'Auror': chasing and bringing dark wizards to justice- that spooked them a bit. But the four children decided to head to the Hogwarts Express, and the parents followed, still deep in conversation. After they had all run through the wall, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley had been waiting on the other side, apparently for them.

"Mum! Dad! What the bloody hell are you doing here?!" Ron walked over to his parents in surprise and gave his mother a hug, and then did the same with his father. Kevin and the Grangers walked over and they all introduced themselves, and then Mr. Weasley interrupted. "Mr. Morgan, I can't begin to give you my thanks for speaking with the Minister. God knows how much my family needed that, and I honestly don't know of any way to repay you for it, as well as the gifts you got Ron. Honestly, if there is anything I can do just ask." He put out his hand, and Michael's father shook it. "You don't need to thank me, Mr. Weasley. You deserve it, and so does Ron. And if you really want to make it up to me, you can start by inviting us over sometime. I'll be sure to bring Harry too; the kid has a talent for cooking." They all looked at Harry and smiled, and he felt a little awkward at first. The only person he had really met was Mr. Morgan, but after a few seconds, Mr. Weasley made him smile. "Harry, I have to ask. What is the use of an electric fish?" They all laughed at the comment, including Harry, but before he could answer the train engine had started up and the four students said their goodbyes before running onto the train. They walked all the way to the back of the train before finding an empty space and the four of them sat down together this time.

The trip back to Hogwarts was spent explaining their favorite gifts, and how their Christmas vacation was in a whole. Hermione had gotten about twenty new books and had already read almost half of them. Ron told her about Mr. Morgan buying him a brand new broom, Harry explained how he had been reading the Quidditch books she gave him, and Michael had showed her the spell book which they the two of them were inspecting and giving their own opinions on the most important ones, marking the pages with a flick of their wands, creating what looked like a sticky-note on the top corners of the page. Then, Harry had remembered the invisibility cloak that was once his fathers. "Oh, I almost forgot to mention. I got a gift from my father." Hermione stopped reading the spell book instantly, and looked up at Harry. "What do you mean, 'from your father'?" Harry looked her, then grabbed his suitcase and took out the invisibility cloak from the top pocket. He unfolded it, wrapped it around his body, lifted it over his head and then he disappeared. Hermione started looking around the room to find him, and then he removed it from his head, and swung it around to reveal the inert part of the cloak that wasn't invisible. Hermione was astonished. She had never heard of such a thing, and the fact that Harry had one baffled her even more. "Who gave it to you? We both know your father couldn't have…" She cut herself short, realizing what she had just said. Apparently, Harry wasn't bothered by it. "I haven't a clue; it just had my name attached to it. All I know is that Mr. Morgan knew my father when they went to school together, and he recognized it as soon as I opened it. And it clearly works, I mean, you saw it yourself. It's incredible, and what's more incredible is that it used to be my dad's."

Hermione sat there for a minute, still comprehending what had just transpire. Then, Michael interrupted her thoughts. "There's something else you need to hear." He looked around the room at Harry and Ron, and then started the story. "We talked to my dad about Professor Fernsby's kidnapping. My father said that all the Ministry knows is that that he was last seen with Hagrid heading to the Hog's Head Inn in Hogsmeade. And that the Hog's Head owner saw the hooded figure and Hagrid playing cards together, then got drunk and left together too. There wasn't much else my father was able to tell us, but maybe we overlooked it because Hagrid is our friend. But now, we aren't sure if there's a threat or not."

Hermione sat in her seat, clearly thinking things over. Silence filled the room for what felt like minutes, before Ron broke the silence. "Maybe we're all looking for something that isn't there? Maybe the hooded person was just that; a person. Not a kidnapper trying to secretly sneak into Hogwarts." The others sat and looked at Ron, and then Harry looked out the window while Hermione and Michael looked down to their laps. They all knew something wasn't right about this, but they couldn't place their fingers on it. After a few minutes, things were back to normal with them as far as avoiding the topic of the kidnapping. Once they arrived at Hogwarts, Dumbledore hosted a grand feast for the return of the students, and then they were off to bed.

Michael lay awake in his bed, the drapes down around it so no one could peer in. Everyone kept their beds like this at night; it was just awkward if you didn't. He had the picture his father had given him in his hand, hovering above his head as he watch his father and mother smiling and kissing, time after time. She was beautiful, definitely someone who was capable of loving unconditionally: someone capable of loving _him_ unconditionally. It might hurt him to know she was gone, but there was a part of him that knew she wasn't truly lost. She was still in a part of him, and maybe she was above him, protecting his soul from something he couldn't comprehend. He sat up in his bed, only to realize that a light was hovering over one of the beds: Harry's bed. He opened his drapes around his bed to see Harry sitting in his bed, staring at the same picture he had been looking at, only he had his drapes open, and had casted _Lumos_ to produce the light. Harry realized Michael had appeared, and he turned out his light. "Sorry" he said. But Michael merely shook his head and whispered, "I was doing the same thing." Michael got up and left the dormitory, with his father's spell book in hand. Sleep was just not going to work for him tonight, so he might as well do something a bit productive. He came down to find that Hermione was laying sideways, draped across the whole couch, her head resting on a pillow while her arms were wrapped around a book. He smiled, grabbed a blanket from atop the couch, and opened it to cover her. She made a groaning sound, then moved her head downward slightly, but didn't wake up. Michael say down in the armchair next to the fire, and opened the book.

Michael was reading about a particular spell which the name was currently unknown. Only few witches and wizards were able to procure such a spell, and those were a long list of deceased names. The spell was said to be so powerful, that it could make the hairs of an observer stand up, even if they were thirty feet away. It was something that Michael knew he wouldn't be able to do any time soon, but he was curious as to the name of the spell. He wanted to learn more about it, something with a bit more fact to it rather than speculation. He was like Hermione, fact-driven and logic-bound, always doing things by the books unless he had to switch things up. Before he knew it, his head had started to fall to his shoulder before he realized what was happening and he caught himself. It happened again on his opposite side, but after the third time, Michael was fast asleep in the arm chair.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Getting back into the grove of the school year wasn't too hard for the four of them, although Ron struggled the most when it came to focusing on his work. Their progress through the year was growing immensely, and at the moment Gryffindor and Slytherin were tied for the most house points, with Ravenclaw in third and Hufflepuff in last. Harry had his ups and downs as Seaker, but mainly he had his ups. Everyone knew he was young, and at the rate of success he was having, everyone knew he could very well become one of the best Seakers to ever attend Hogwarts. Hermione was, as expected, top of her year with Michael just behind her, and the four friends were forgetting about the kidnapping incident that had them so riled up over the holiday break, and living normal lives.

The four friends were just arriving at their Defense Against the Dark Arts class when Professor McGonagall exiting the room, closing the door shut behind her. "Your class today has been cancelled. As for why, I cannot tell you, so do not bother asking. All of you please return to your dormitories immediately." She waved the students off, and they turned around and headed back towards the common room.

Hermione was the first to comment. "Don't you think that was a bit… odd?" She had her arms wrapped around her books, carrying them against her chest.

Michael did think that was a bit out of place, but he wasn't sure he was ready to go as far as believing there was more to it than Professor Quirll having some type of personal issue. In any case, the others were still talking about the issue, Ron expressing his deep gratitude to the professor for cancelling the class, while Harry was agreeing with Hermione. "Even if he hadn't been well enough to teach, there would have been a replacement. Most likely that being Snape, since he's been after Quirll's job for years now. I have to agree with Hermione, something doesn't feel right. Maybe he was kidnapped too!" They all played it out in their minds, and each scenario all occurred at Hogwarts, which was cause for worry.

Michael broke the silence. "If Quirll was kidnapped, and I'm not saying he was, that would mean that the kidnapper had penetrated through Hogwarts safeguards, which would mean that he either learned a secret into getting in, or he found a way around the safeguards. Either way, it wouldn't be good for anyone in the school." They reached the portrait and Ron said the password, the Fat Lady swung open and the four of them entered the common room to find all the students crowded around Percy, who was announcing something. They all got closer to hear what he was saying.

"Now everybody quiet down! This comes straight from Dumbledore so I suggest you all shut up and listen to me! Thank you, now: as per his request, all students are to remain here in the common room for the remainder of the day. As to what is going on, I have no clue so do not ask me because no one has told me anything. If any of you go wandering around the corridors, you'll be given detention and you will cause Gryffindor to lose a hundred points for each offender." Once he was finished the crowd of Gryffindor's dispersed and the four of them were left pondering the news. Something certainly wasn't right, and it wasn't because Professor Quirll was ill. Harry pulled the four of them over to a corner where no one was, because everyone was preoccupied with Fred and George's new inventions as they were showing them off to everybody, and he started to devise a plan of action. "I'm not sure if this is a good idea, but I think it's time we put my dad's old cloak to use. But I don't think we are all going to fit underneath it, maybe three but I don't think four is gonna work." Hermione agreed to stay behind and make sure no one went asking questions or looking for the others, her wits and quick-thinking were the best in the group, so it only made sense to leave her behind to take care of any curious people. As for the boys, they followed Harry upstairs into his room and grabbed his invisibility cloak, then wrapped it up and over the three of them. To their surprise, it was more than large enough to cover all of them, and then they made their way down the steps. Hermione was waiting patiently at the bottom, and Harry whispered into her ear that they were behind her, and then she began to move towards the portrait, making sure that they had a clear path to the door so no one went bumping into them. They managed to make it to the portrait, and then Harry pushed it open just enough for them to squeeze through without having anyone notice it open.

"Well, let's hope this isn't some wild goose chase." Harry whispered, and then they made their way back to Professor Quirll's classroom, assuming that the professors were searching it. They turned down a corridor just before the classroom before they heard footsteps; Michael put his arm out in front of the other boys and pushed them back against the wall. Dumbledore was walking next to Snape on his right, with Professor McGonagall on his left. Dumbledore was speaking at the moment, but they could make out the first part. "…know is that the kidnapper left a note." He stopped in the middle of the corridor, and turned around to face both the teachers. "He plans to kidnap another, and I must ask each of you to help me keep the students here at Hogwarts safe. Even the students you may not particularly care for." Snape looked up at him, and then lowered his head in agreement. Dumbledore turned around and continued walking, with the two professors' behind him. "We must increase the safeguards to the school, and as for his post, you, Severus, will be replacing him until he has returned." The Professor's turned at the end of the corridor, and disappeared.

They stood in their hidden spot for a few minutes, all of them baffled by what had just transpired. A million thoughts were racing through Michael's head, and he was sure that the others were feeling the same way. Why would someone kidnap Professor Quirll? He was probably the most harmless person who taught at Hogwarts, what could he possibly know? At last, Harry was the first to build up enough courage to speak, but only at a whisper. "We should head back now." And so they did. They walked down the corridor and turned right down another which the entrance to the staircases was now visible. They had just started moving toward the staircases when a hooded figure appeared standing under the archway of the entrance. He had been running, but stopped once he reached that entrance, and was peering down the corridor, as if he knew something was there but his eyes were fooling him. Ron slapped his hand over his mouth without making a sound so he didn't unintentionally scream from being scared out of his pants, and then Michael did the same. Harry grabbed both of them by their shirts and started to slowly move them behind a stone-gargoyle that stood against the wall. Ron and Michael moved back against the wall, still under the cloak, and Harry peered around the gargoyle to watch the hooded figure. He made sure that all of their bodies were under the invisibility cloak before he doubled his look back to the entrance, then Michael saw Harry's hand move above his mouth. Harry moved his body backwards without making a sound, and then the hooded figure appeared just in front of them, staring down the corridor searching for answers. The hooded figure stood there for what felt like a lifetime to Michael, and out of nowhere Ron bumped against the wall, making a faint but visible scrapping sound. The hooded figure snapped its head toward the direction where the noise came from, and then took a step towards them.

Harry took a silent step back, pushing his body against Ron and Michael. They were done for, and they knew it. There was no where they could go, they were trapped. The hooded figure took another step towards them, and this was close enough for Harry to make out the face under the hood. His eyes popped and his jaw dropped at who he saw, then they heard footsteps coming up the staircase and the hooded figure looked back towards the entrance, then took off, hovering down the corridor. Whoever was running up those stairs had just saved all of their lives, and they weren't even going to be able to thank them. They waited for the footsteps to continue up the staircase, and then made their way back to the common room.

They entered the common room to find Professor McGonagall taking a headcount of all the Gryffindor's in the room. They hurried to get to the staircase before any of their names were called. "Hermione Granger". Hermione raised her hand, and she had a worried look on her face. The boy's walked around the edges of the crowd until they finally made their way up the staircase and were able to remove the cloak. Harry ran into his room and put it back into his suitcase, then they made their way down to the common room. "Michael Morgan." Michael hurriedly raised his hand and the Professor looked over towards the staircase and then made a check on her list. They made their way to where Hermione was standing, who had a worried look on her face. "You're not going to believe what we just saw" Michael whispered and then they waited in silence for Professor McGonagall to finish. "All of you may exit the common room now, and continue with your usual activities" and then she left. Hermione grabbed Michael by the arm and dragged him over to a table in the corner of the common room, pulling him down into the couch surrounding it. Harry and Ron followed, peering over their shoulders just out of precaution. "What the hell happened? Something is terribly wrong here, or else McGonagall couldn't have done a headcount. What did you see?"

Michael explained the whole story: Dumbledore talking about the note, Snape being the new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, extra precautions being made, and then they got to the hooded figure appear. After he told Hermione about Ron's mishap, she was about to speak when Harry interrupted. "I saw his face." Ron, Michael and Hermione all looked up at him with shock plastered all over their faces. "What do you mean you saw his face? Mate, he had a hood on in a dark corridor, I don't think you saw his face." Ron was clearly frightened from the events, and even more frightened that Harry saw what who was behind it all.

"It was Professor Quirll. He's the kidnapper." Harry sat down in an armchair next to the table and was staring down at his lap. They were all confused, worried, and scared. What could they possibly do with this information? No one would believe that a Hogwarts Professor was behind these atrocious kidnappings, and especially from a scared, stuttering teacher like Professor Quirll. They had no options, and they knew it. "What do we do? IS there even anything we _can_ do?" Hermione asked. They continued to sit in silence, still having no clue where the Professor was keeping his kidnapped victims or how to get to them if they did know. Harry looked up to find all their faces looking to him for the answers. "I don't know."

The next few days were odd for the four of them. Everyone in Hogwarts was pretending as if nothing bad was happening, but they knew better. They knew there was trouble about to sweep Hogwarts clean from its safety, and they knew that if something didn't happen soon, someone could get seriously hurt. Hermione decided to start reading some of Professor Quirl's books in order to understand him better, and get an understanding of what had happened to him over the past few years to make him so jumpy. It was odd to think that he was the one behind the attacks, and Hermione knew that there must have been something that everyone, including the great Albus Dumbledore, was overlooking. Michael agreed to help as well, and over those next few days they were able to piece together some facts that would have otherwise been missed by those not searching for them. They found that Professor Quirl went on a year-round trip around the world to gain a first-hand experience for his Muggle Studies. But what didn't make sense was that, prior to that year; Professor Quirl had already traveled to most of the parts of the world important to the Muggles. They pieced together that he must have been in search of something else, and once Harry mentioned the newspaper article that Michael's father was in, they were able to make sense of what Professor Quirl was really after: a search to finding the weakened Dark Lord. They also noticed in his writings that he started wearing his turban because an African prince gave it to him for ridding of a zombie. What didn't make sense was why he felt a need to wear it each and every day, which caused them to speculate reasons as to why he chose to do so. They found it odd, but couldn't manage any explanation as to what was really behind it. Also in his book, Hermione noticed that the Professor spoke of encountering vampires and having an issue with a hag in the Black Forest of Albania, which gave speculation that perhaps he was hiding out in the Forbidden Forest. None of this evidence could be proven, of course, but it was a start.

The four friends took to walking the grounds to try to formulate a reasonable area that would provide the Professor with everything he needed, that being a place to hide, a place to hold his victims, and a food source. Michael was the first to mention it, and the idea was logical; what if he was closer to Hogsmeade than he was to Hogwarts? It would provide him with everything he needed; he could even very well be in Hogsmeade. Then something struck Harry. "Wait; remember the night that we witnessed all this? When the hooded figure nearly took us to our graves? Do any of you remember it fleeing back toward the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom? He turned the corner and closed the door once he heard the footsteps, which must have been McGonagall. What if that's where he's hiding?"

Hermione kept her eyes on the forest. "Harry, you can't honestly believe that the Professor would be crazy enough to hide out in the underground floors of the castle. Besides, there isn't even an entrance to them from that room."

Harry shook his head and grabbed her arm slightly to get her attention. "No, think about it. That would be the perfect place to hide; no one would suspect them kidnapper to be hidden at Hogwarts, giving him the advantage every time."

Hermione squinted her eyes, clearly deep in thought. Then her eyes widened and she gave her reply. "Come to think of it, when Professor Quirl was still teaching I went down to his room to ask him about one of the essays, and when I went down there was a book out of place on the bookshelf. I think it was called 'A Vampire's Monologue' written by Amarillo Lestoat. When I went to check his office upstairs, it was empty, and when I spoke with Professor McGonagall about where he was, none of the professor's knew. I wouldn't bet my life on it, but that's the best thing I can think of. I'm going to go to the library and see if there are any other books I can find on Professor Quirl. Maybe there will be something we missed, and don't go to second floor corridor where we have our Defense Against the Dark Arts classes. I want to be sure about that before we check it out." Hermione smiled and left the boys standing outside, glaring at the forest.

Harry looked around and saw Hagrid being spoken to by Professor Dumbledore, so he started making his way down to his cabin. Ron and Michael followed, and once they arrived Dumbledore was the first to greet them. "Ah, good afternoon Harry. And to you Ron and Michael. I see you three are enjoying the wonderful weather we are having. Well, Hagrid, I best be off. Be sure to take care of the things I've asked, it is for the best." To that, Dumbledore bowed his head to the boys and made his way back up towards the castle. Harry watched for a bit until he turned back to Hagrid. "What did he want you to take care of?"

Hagrid looked extremely upset, and the three of them had only just noticed. "What's wrong?" Harry asked. Hagrid waved them inside, and so they followed him in. Hagrid grabbed them tea cups and poured each of them a drink. Then he sat down and gave his reply. "Professor Dumbledore wants me ter give me dragon over ter the Romanians to send 'em to a sanctua'ry. " He wiped his eyes, which were starting to water up, and the three of them felt bad for their friend.

"Dumbledore is just looking after you Hagrid, you know that. He doesn't want you to get in trouble with the ministry, and you can't exactly own a dragon. There are special license and requirements for that stuff." Ron was doing his best, and Hagrid knew that.

"Yea' I know. But what if 'e don' like Romania?" Hagrid was clearly doing his best to change their minds on the matter, but it was no use. After some well-developed facts from Ron, and some patting on the back from Michael and Harry, Hagrid finally accepted the fate of his little dragon.

"Al'ight al'ight. I'll send 'em to 'Omania. So where's 'Ermione?" The three boys looked from one to the other before answering.

"She's cooped up in the library, as always." Michael said. Then Ron added, "Getting ahead on school work, I 'spose." Harry gave Ron a look and then continued his conversation with Hagrid.

After about an hour of talking about their holiday's and how school had been going, Dumbledore re-appeared at Hagrid's cabin. "Hagrid, I'm sorry to interrupt but I need to speak with you outside." Hagrid looked at the boys, then stood up and exited the cabin. The boys hurried over to the door and placed their ears against the slits to hear the talk outside. "I need you to search the grounds. A student has been kidnapped, and the kidnapper left us another note in the Defense Against the Dark Arts room. If the kidnapper continues to penetrate our defenses around the school, I'm afraid Hogwarts may very well be closed for good. Be swift, Hagrid." He turned to leave but Hagrid spoke up.

"Perfessor, who was the student taken?"

Dumbledore turned around and answered, "Hermione Granger."

Michael immediately stood up and was about ready to thrust through the door before Harry and Ron held him back. "He took Hermione! We have to do something!"

Michael struggled to break free, but Ron and Harry had very good holds on him. "We can't just barge out of here; Dumbledore will know that we overheard him. We need to wait till he leaves before we can do anything." Michael relaxed, and then he sat down in the couch, waiting for Hagrid to return. When he did, he look distraught, and couldn't find the right words to say to them.

"Have ter… go. Needs me… Dumbledore." He left them standing there, and then he entered the Forbidden Forest with his crossbow in hand, and Fang by his side. Michael shot up from the chair and started running towards the castle, and Harry and Ron were running right behind him. Once Michael made his way to the entrance he stopped, and Harry and Ron stopped too. "What is it?" Ron asked. Michael turned around to face them, "Hermione was in the library, not the Defense Against the Dark Arts room, which means she either found something that can help us, or the kidnapper is hiding out somewhere in there." Ron looked shocked, and Harry immediately started running towards the staircases, with the two boys behind him. They ran past a few people, including Seamus and Neville who were confused as to what they were in such a rush for, and then they finally made it to the library. They slowed down before they entered so they didn't scare anybody when they did. Once they entered, they made their way through a few rows of bookshelves until they found Madam Pince replacing books that had been removed. "Excuse me Madam Pince, but was Hermione in here recently?" She nodded and kept her stare at them. Harry searched for the next words to say, before he asked, "Could you tell us what book she was reading?" Madam Pince gave them a confused look, and then handed them the book on the bottom of her pile.

Michael took the book and said "Thank you" then examined it. It was from the Hogwarts Archives: a collection of papers and books written by Hogwarts Professors and Headmaster's. The particular one in Michael's hand was from Armando Dippet, the Headmaster before Dumbledore. Michael noticed a page had been creased, and he immediately opened to it.

"_After discovering Salazar Slytherin's personal journal, we have come to believe that_ _there is a hidden passage that leads down to the lower chambers of the castle in classroom 31. We've searched the classroom, but haven't found any magic or non-magical entrances to said passages and are now led to believe that the rooms were changes sometime over the period leading up to now without making note of it for future references. According to Salazar Slytherin, the entrance leads down to his old chambers that he used to get away from the other Hogwarts Founders when he was devising his plan to only allow purebloods into his house. A discovery such as this would be unspeakably valuable to the wizarding world and to Hogwarts as well." _

Michael's jaw dropped lower and lower as he was reading this, and once he reached the bottom of the page he finally noticed handwriting that looked like Hermione's. '_A Vampire's Monologue'_ was all she had written, but once he read it he knew where they had to do. He looked at Harry and Ron, who had been patiently waiting for his answer, before he handed the book back to Madam Pince and they left the library to head down to the second floor. They ran down the flights of stairs before turning into the corridor. At last, they now stood in front of the door to Classroom 31.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

A/N- this chapter is sort of my own combination of future hp storys (that being the goblet of fire) with the first hp story. you may not like how i combined them and any criticism is welcomed, but i personally think its interesting. It's sort of a failed attempt at voldemorts later successful one, and i think it worked out well. Anyways, back to the book!

Harry pushed the door open, and the classroom was empty, and looked like it had a few days before, barren and like any other classroom. The bookshelf was against the right wall with a book sticking out of it, just like Hermione had said. Michael ran over to it, and checked the spine to see the title of the book. Sure enough, it was exactly what Hermione had told them it was, '_A Vampire's Monologue'._

"This is it! Quirl must have put this here when he arrived and discovered the entrance to Salazar Slytherin's lower chambers." Michael kept his eyes on the book, and he first tried to pull it out, but once he did nothing happened. He looked over at Harry and Ron and they both gave him skeptical looks. "I'm not too sure this is it mate" Ron said, but then Michael replaced the book, this time pushing it all the way in so it wasn't bulging out of the bookshelf. Then, on the opposite side of the room, the wall started to rotate, and before their eyes, the entire wall went from being a vertical twin to its brother wall to being a horizontal opposite, revealing a staircase that lead down somewhere. The boys all removed their wands, and casted _Lumos_, and then began their descent.

They reached the bottom of the stairs to find a door waiting for them. Cautious to open it, because none of them knew what was on the other side; Michael grabbed the handle of pulled the door open while Harry and Ron held their wands at the ready just in case. When nothing happened, Michael took a step into the open to see what was beyond the door. When he saw what it was, he was astonished. This wasn't a chamber at all, it was practically a giant cave, with a small walkway perfectly designed to travel against the walls of it. The walkway was clearly made from magic, but as for the cave they couldn't know for sure. Harry went forward first, with Michael following and Ron at the rear. They followed the walls of the cave with _Lumos_ casted as they walked, until they reached another door. This time it was already propped open, and they could visibly see inside it. Statues of Knights and Swordsmen stood frozen in place and were scattered across the room. Michael took a step in, and before their eyes the statues all started to stand up and lift their swords. The boys raised their wands', and once the statues started to move their way, they started casting what spells they knew at their attackers. Ron and Harry were casting _Incendio_ at the statues, which was working to push them back, but not causing any real damage. When Michael realized that he needed to think of something quick, he remembered a spell that he had read from the book his father gave him for Christmas. Immediately he raised his wand and screamed '_Confringo'_ and a blast of what he presumed to be fire burst out of his wand. As soon as it touched three statues, they exploded and turned into fire, causing a few more to do the same. Harry and Ron's eyes popped once they saw the effectiveness of the spell, and they immediately started casting the same thing. Within minutes, all of the statues had been destroyed, and the boys stood in shock at what had just happened.

Then Ron spoke. "Bloody brilliant, your Dad is." Michael turned to look at his fellow friends, who were covered in dirt and ashes just as much as he was. "We should move forward" he suggested and then Ron and Harry nodded. They made their way across the room to find another door waiting for them, and so they pressed forward. Beyond the door, a hallway waited for them that lead into the walls of the castle. They casted _Lumos_ and moved down it slowly, not sure if something was going to happen and if they would even be able to see it, but they continued to move all the same. Finally, the heard screaming coming from the room in front of them, and they started to run towards the source. It was Hermione's voice, screaming for help. Michael opened the door to reveal Hermione sitting on ground with her arms tied to a post that reached from the floor to the ceiling with Professor Fernsby next to her in the same state, but unconscious. Michael ran over to her side and casted a spell that cut the robe around her wrists so she could be freed and then did the same to Professor Fernsby. Hermione hugged Michael and then helped Ron with moving the Professor. Harry and Michael stood, waiting for the two of them to be ready to go on ahead, but Hermione had her own plans.

"We need to help Professor Fernsby or else he isn't going to make it. He's badly hurt and he needs to get to the hospital wing now. We need to warn the teachers of whom and where the attacks are coming from!"

Harry shook his head 'No' and then turned around and Michael followed him. "It could be a trap! There's something wrong with Professor Quirl, he… he isn't himself. I don't know what's gotten into him but you two need to be careful." She stood up and walked over to them. "You two shouldn't do this, you should come back and tell Dumbledore. He can stop this; maybe undo what he's done! But if you two go on ahead, who knows what could happen." She looked down at the thought of it, she cared for both of them. After all, they were the only friends she ever had. Last thing she wanted was to lose that in her life too.

Michael took a step forward and looked at her. "You need to go back and warn Dumbledore of what's going on. If Harry and I don't go forward, he could escape, and return. We need to end this now." He watched as a tear stroked down her face, then she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek, and then threw her arms around his neck. He was shocked at first, but then wrapped his arms around her waist. After a short embrace, she released her hold and then turned to help Ron with Professor Fernsby. Harry and Michael watched as they left, then Harry spoke to Michael.

"I didn't know you kept your charm even in moments like these" he said jokingly, and then Michael elbowed him in the ribs, causing him to flinch and laugh.

"Shut up and let's get moving, you ass" he replied jokingly, and then the two of them turned around and opened the door.

Once they opened the door, it revealed another cave-like opening, with spikey-rock formations coming down from the ceiling. Across a small bridge built over water glistened a tiny light. Harry looked at Michael, then he took the first steps. They were about halfway across the bridge before they heard something in the water beneath them.

"What they bloody hell was that, Harry?" Michael asked, scared out of his mind from the thought of something being in the waters. Harry was on the left, and he peered over the edge of the bridge, while Michael peered over the other side. They saw something swimming in the water, multiple things swimming in the water after further examination. Out of nowhere, something sickly green shot out of the water, scratching the side of the bridge Michael was on, Michael jumped back, and bumped into Harry, who was now dangling on the edge, trying to hold his balance. Michael grabbed the back of Harry's shirt and pulled him back towards him. Harry started shooting spells at them, but nothing seemed to work.

"They're Grindlylow's. I read about 'em! As long as neither of us get caught in their grips we should be fine!" They continued to cast spells at the sentient beings, but suddenly the water pressure started rising in the cave, and the door ahead of them started to shut: a visible door starting to slide from right to left. Harry and Michael didn't take any hesitation to running towards the door, but just before they reached it, a Grindylow got hold of Michael's ankle and he fell to the ground, grabbing whatever he could to hold on to the bridge. Harry stopped once he heard Michael hit the ground, and when he turned around, Michael was half way under water. Harry didn't know what to do, but suddenly Michael screamed out 'Use Fire!' before his head submerged under water. Harry ran over to where Michael's hands were still gripping on to and pulled him up, and once his head appeared, he was able to make out to form of the Grindylow holding on to his ankle, and he aimed his wand at it. He continued to pull Michael out of the water until finally, the Grindylow's head was visible and he immediately casted '_Incendio'_ at it, causing it to let go of Michael, and causing Harry to fall backwards. They got up, and could feel the water starting to surface over the bridge and dashed to the door. Harry fit through fine: now it was Michael's turn. The door had almost sealed, and Michael had to press his body against the wall, feeling the door start to rub against his clothes, before he had finally managed to get his whole body through. The door closed, and they could hear the Grindylow's slamming against it, then they heard the water pressure retreating again, and they were standing in an open chamber that reminded him of the Headmaster's chamber, only much larger. Pillars were surrounding it, with stairs leading down to a small desk. Sitting in the desk, was none other than Professor Quirl, except he had his hood on rather than his turban.

The boys waited, then took a step down towards him. The hooded Quirl sat still in his chair, until he heard them reach the bottom step. Then he stood up, and turned around to see them.

"You? I had expected Dumbledore or Professor Snape to be the ones to reach me, but two _boys?_ Clearly Salazar Slytherin wasn't as great as he is foretold to be." Suddenly, Harry and Michael's scars started burning uncontrollably, and then they heard a voice speak out over the Chamber.

_"Do not speak ill of my ancestors, or I will make your fate the same as his."_

They had no idea what was happening. They had never felt this kind of pain in their scars before, and to feel it now was probably the worst time too. With Quirl standing in front of them, he merely laughed as he watched the two boys squirm.

"So you two are the boys who lived? I don't understand, My Lord, but how could they have manage to survive by your hands? It is… impossible."

Michael was starting to deal with the pain he was feeling once he noticed Harry had stood up and was aiming his wand at Quirl. He searched his body for every ounce of strength it had, and for as much courage he needed to move his arm, and then he too had his wand raised at Quirl.

"You do not honestly believe the tow of you can defeat me? Do you still not understand?"

Harry glanced over at Michael, and then he spoke. "Understand what?"

The Professor turned around and laughed at the boys. "So naïve, both of you. Did you honestly believe that p-p-professor Quirl was honestly that innocent and pathetic? No. I am no longer _just_ Professor Quirl, but a servant of the Dark Lord himself." Harry and Michael still weren't sure what he meant. "Still not understanding? Pathetic. As I'm sure Miss Granger figured out, my trips to Albania were not for academic purposes. They were in search of what was left of Lord Voldemort. There had been speculation as to what had happened to him, if he was still alive, and when I tracked him down to that area, we dueled. I was no match for the Dark Lord even in his terrible state, and I realized that magic was all about power and he would be my guide. He spared my life, and in return I was to keep watch on you two while you came to Hogwarts until the timing was right to let him finish the job he failed those many years ago." The Professor waved his wand, and the floor between the boys and the Professor started to change. A small circle became visible on the floor, and then a cauldron started to rise from beneath it. Quirl started to laugh, and then continued his speech.

"Then, out of pure coincidence, I placed one of my books on the bookshelf, revealing this chamber. The Dark Lord did not trust me to enter the cave on my own, for there were too many unforeseen dangers that he felt I was not ready for, but surely if the two of you could enter this chamber, I could have as well. I believe you underestimate me, Master."

The voice spoke again, _"Silence! Do not question my choices, you pathetic fool!" _

Quirl quivered under his Master's commands. "I am sorry Master. I just wish you put a little more faith into my abilities that is all."

The voice did not answer, so Quirl continued. "My Master punished me because of my ignorance. Once we discovered his ancestor's great Chamber, my Master devised a plan." The cauldron had finally rose above the floor, and the floor changed back to its normal state, leaving the cauldron above it this time.

The voice was angrier this time. "_You fool, you are wasting time. Show them to me!"_

Quirl bowed his head in compliance, then started to remove his turban. He turned his body around so that the back of his head was visible to the boys. The last article of the turban was removed, leaving behind what should have been the back of Quirl's head. Instead, a face was staring back at them, paler than Professor Quirl's skin. Now it was clear why he wore the turban, and the face was distorted and wrinkled: clearly weakened. It took control of Quirl's head, then began to stretch out his neck.

_"You were both able to avoid death once, but I will not let that happen again. Tonight, the Dark Lord shall rise again!"_ Quirl's body turned and now his face was facing the boys, and to their surprise, he did not reach for his wand. He took a step towards Harry and Michael, and then lunged at them, levitating through the air as if he were one with it. Then, he grabbed hold of both boys by their throats and lifted them off the ground. The boys both reached at the hand's crushing their throats, trying to break free from his hold. Quirl turned around, and then started moving towards the cauldron. He had just moved a step away from it before Harry lifted his wand and casted '_Flipendo'_ sending Michael and Quirl flying in opposite directions, as well as sending him backwards. Harry slammed against a pillar, while Quirl slammed into the desk, and Michael slammed into a pillar on the opposite side of the wall. Harry stood, realizing that Michael was knocked unconscious. Quirl stood up, and then Harry heard Voldemort commanding him again. _"Kill him! Do not waste time!"_

Harry wasn't sure what to do, so he raised his wand to fire another spell at Quirl, but Quirl was quicker. He raised his wand and disarmed Harry, making his wand fling across the room. Quirl was standing next to the cauldron, and Harry made a desperation lunge at his opponent. He pushed Quirl back and ran for his wand, once he reached it he saw Quirl levitating again towards him, but then he was caught in mid-air, unable to move.

"Harry! We need to get him into the cauldron!" It was Michael! He was using the levitation charm to control Quirl for the time being. "I need your help; I can't keep him much longer!"

Harry raised his wand and made his 'swish-and-flick' motion and then started to push Quirl towards the cauldron. Michael had blood dripping from a cut on his forehead, and he could feel his scar burning near his chest-area. Harry could feel his scar burning too, but if they had any chance of doing this, now was it. They put as much force as they could behind their levitation charms, and they began to lower Quirl into the cauldron. His feet burned from the liquid inside the cauldron, and Quirl began to scream from pain.

"I have failed you Master!"

At last, they could feel Quirl giving up from escaping and they lowered his body completely into the cauldron. Michael collapsed to his knees after they had finally finished Quirl off, and Harry ran over to his side to check on him. He was breathing heavily, exhausted from trying to fight Quirl's escape. Levitation was easy when the objects were as light as a feather, but if they were as heavy as a human being, that is a different story. He was panting before he looked up at Harry, and then turned his attention back to the cauldron. The cauldron began to bubble and Harry turned around. A figure appeared above the cauldron, it's feet connected with the bubbles. The figure screamed, and then flew straight through the bodies of Harry and Michael, and then they both passed out. The last thing Harry saw was Michael's body hitting the ground, and then his own.


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

** A/N- this chapter represents the same aspect as the closing chapter in the first story, with like i mentioned earlier a twist. i did my best to use my own ideas, but this is one of my favorite moments in the hp books when Dumbledore first confides in Harry. if you liked this story, i'll continue it into my own series, if not maybe i'll write another fanfic. feedback is welcomed as always, and if i offend anyone with the closeness of the two stories i apologize in advance. also, just a reminder that i do not OWN any of J.K. ROWLING'S HARRY POTTER SERIES and this is my own work. Thanks for sticking with the story all the way through, and i'm currently writing another HP fic that takes place during Harry's 6th year, totally different than this. Again, i'd love reviews so feel free to leave any. Anyways, Enjoy!**

Michael awoke in the hospital wing, looking up at the ceiling. He moved his body backwards in the bed to sit up, and felt his scar burn as he did so, and immediately he saw Dumbledore sitting in a stool in between his bed, and the bed Harry lay in to his left. Dumbledore turned to face Michael, and then smiled to him. Michael put his back against the metal frame that extended upwards behind him, and then Dumbledore spoke. "I see you have recovered much faster than young Harry here. Good to see the two of you are alright."

He had a gleam in his eyes, as if he admired the boy for what he had done, and Dumbledore continued on. "Do you remember what happened down in Salazar's Chamber?" Michael tried to recollect his memories, replaying what had happened.

"I remember everything up until after Voldemort, or what looked like a ghost of him, flew through Harry and my body. After that I passed out. Is Hermione okay? And Ron?" He rubbed his chest, feeling the burning sensation in his scar starting to lessen.

Dumbledore noticed Michael's movements, and raised his hand to point towards it. "Hermione is fine. As is Professor Fernsby and your friend Ron. I see your scar has been bothering you, just as Mr. Potter's has as well."

Michael looked down at his chest, and then back up to Dumbledore, searching for an answer to the burns. "Do you know why it burns, Professor? It never happened until I was in the presence of Voldemort down in that Chamber. Harry felt the same burning pain too; I could sense it even though I was in too much pain to actually notice it."

The Professor studied Michael for a moment, and then turned his head over to look at Harry who was still knocked out. "I do not know why the two of you shared such a pain, but it seems clear that your scars burn when you are in danger from Voldemort. As to why they do that, I do not have an answer for this either, but you and Harry share a connection that few wizards have ever experienced before. You come from different backgrounds, but in the end, you two are as close to brothers as any two people who aren't related could be. Do you know why you and Harry both have those scars?"

Michael hadn't a clue. He placed his hands in his lap and stared at them, going through numerous different speculations that he could think up. Dumbledore smiled, and gave Michael the answers he was searching for. "Those scars are left from very evil, very dark curses that most witches and wizards would never imagine straying towards. The mark on Harry's forehead came from Voldemort's hand, as did yours. But what Voldemort hadn't expected, was an old magic. Something he had never anticipated when he arrived at your house, or at Harry's." He paused. "Love."

Harry had apparently woken up, and he sat up in his bed just as Michael did earlier. Dumbledore looked over and smiled at Harry. "Ah, hello Harry. I see you have recovered as quickly as Michael has. How are you feeling?" Harry reached for his forehead where his lightning scar was prickling. "As I thought. You friend Michael here had the same reaction once he first woke."

Harry looked over at Michael, and Michael gave him a reassuring smile, letting him know that things were back to normal for now. Harry looked back at Dumbledore. "Are Hermione and Ron okay?"

Dumbledore reassured Harry that everything was taken care of, and began filling in Harry on the details that he had filled Michael in.

Harry seemed to remember a bit more than Michael had, but not much. After Voldemort's figure went through their bodies, Michael immediately passed out but Harry had glimpses of when Dumbledore arrived, and being carried back to the medical wing. "After we arrived here, that is the last thing I remember" Harry finished, and Dumbledore kept his smile.

He stood up from his stool and went to the end of Harry's bed, where Michael and Harry both realized they had gifts waiting for them there. Dumbledore turned around at the end of the bed, and looked at them both. "Professor Quirl, I am afraid, is long gone. Voldemort latched himself on to Professor Quirl's soul, and by doing so would be able to take control of the Professor whenever he saw fit. Voldemort was behind the kidnappings more-so than Professor Quirl; although I am sad to admit he fooled even me in believing that his trip to Albania was strictly for hands-on purposes. However, it so remains that you both have discovered a connection that has grown between the two of you."

Michael was puzzled, and like always, he needed to find the answers. "Sir, what do you mean a 'connection' between us? What kind of connection?"

Dumbledore studied Michael, and then nodded his head in agreement. "I suppose you both have a right to know. From my guesses, this connection has nothing to do with any physical linking, but rather a psychological bond. You will know when you are both in danger, whether you are apart or together. And if my guesses are correct, and they normally are, it will cause the both of you to grow closer together as friends. Bonds like these are extremely rare, and in some cases, they can form a mind-link."

Harry now looked confused and asked for answers. "What's a mind-link, Professor? Are you saying we'll be able to read each other's minds?"

Dumbledore beamed down at Harry. "Precisely! I believe, over time, that the two of you will be able not only to read each other's minds, but speak to each other without saying a single word. A feat that could prove most useful in the years to come."

Michael and Harry now looked at each other, smiling, and then looked back at Dumbledore. "Now, I must go attend to some matters with the Ministry. Do you both feel well enough to see your friends? They've been asking every few hours to see you." They both nodded and he nodded back and smiled.

"I wish you both the best, if I am to not see you again." He turned and left through the doors to their right, and then Harry turned towards Michael.

"Can you believe this? It seems almost impossible! How could we share a mind-link, simply from a scar?"

Michael looked up at him, and was confused. "I haven't a clue, but Dumbledore was right when he said it could become a weapon in the future, don't you think? It's kind of exciting actually, but a bit scary too."

Harry nodded in agreement. "Scary and exciting are probably the best way to describe it." They both laughed, and then Ron and Hermione came barging through the doors. Ron went over to Harry's bed, immediately grabbing a Chocolate Frog, while Hermione ran over to Michael's bed and just on to him. "Oh, I knew you two would be alright! I was worried that we wouldn't get word back in time but the tow of you managed! It's incredible!" She kissed Michael on the cheek without even realizing, and his cheeks started to turn red as he smiled back at her.

"It's good to see you too, Hermione." Hermione got off the bed and awkwardly walked over to stand next to Ron, who was just opening the Chocolate Frog.

Harry laughed and then jokingly said, "Oh, yeah, feel free to open all my gifts while you're at it." The four of them laughed, and then Harry and Michael decided to fill them in. They started the story from when they left Ron and Hermione behind, explaining the open bridge above the water, the Grindylows' jumping at them, grabbing hold of Michael and nearly pulling him under until Harry saved him. Then how Professor Quirl was really Lord Voldemort, how Michael had been knocked up but then woke just in time to save Harry. "If it wasn't for him, I'd probably be floating around as part of Voldemort right now." Michael laughed and replied, "I was only returning the favor."

"So what did Dumbledore tell you guys?" Hermione asked. Harry and Michael exchanged another look, and then decided to fill their friends in.

"Look, this is something you can't tell anyone. And I mean _anyone_." Michael whispered to them, then made a hand gesture to make them move closer. They both moved forward, Hermione taking a seat on the stool while Ron stood next to her, and Michael continued. "Our scars started burning while we first confronted Voldemort, both of us at the same time. When we asked Dumbledore about why it happened, he said he thinks it's because it is trying to warn us of his presence; as if we are in danger." Hermione's eye's widened and Ron looked flabbergasted. Harry took over at this point and continued to explain, "He also said something else. He said that me and Michael have a… well we have something called a 'mind-link'. Dumbledore has never heard of anything quite like it, but he did say that our minds will be able to tell each other when the other is in danger." Ron smirked and then whispered 'Wicked' and Hermione elbowed him in the stomach. Harry continued again, "And if we continue to grow our mind-link, we'll be able to read each other's thoughts, and even have conversations without even speaking."

At this point both their jaws dropped. "Is that even possible?" Hermione asked. Michael laughed and Harry answered, "That's exactly what Michael said. He couldn't believe it either." This time Ron butted in.

"The two of them, always trying to find answers for problems, even if the answers are unknown." He winked at Harry, and Hermione placed another blow to his stomach, and Harry couldn't help but laugh. "Seriously, Ron, it's not funny. Michael and I just look for logical explanations to the problems rather than go at them head first and deal with the consequences later." Michael laughed, and Hermione shot him a look and he stopped laughing at once but couldn't control the smile fashioned on his face.

Later that night, Harry and Michael were released from the Hospital Wing, and the both made their way to the Great Hall to get a bite to eat. They weren't sure if the feast had finished or not, but they were sure if they made their way to the kitchen's the elves wouldn't mind cooking up a meal for them. They made it to the doors of the Great Hall, and when they opened it they found it flooded with students. They both gave out a sigh of relief: a sigh for both dinner not having been finished, and a sigh for things being back to normal. A number of heads turned towards the door to see Harry and Michael standing there, and then Michael caught a glimpse of Hermione waving them over; apparently she had saved the two of them seats. Curious, they walked over Michael sat down next to Hermione, with Harry sitting next to him. They could finally dig in; after eating the food in the hospital wing they were beyond excited to get their hands on the delicious foods they were so accustomed to eating daily.

After everyone had finished eating and the plates disappeared, Dumbledore stood to make a speech. Harry and Michael noticed that Gryffindor were no longer tied for the lead anymore and they wondered how long they had been unconscious for. "Hermione, how long were Harry and I knocked out?" She answered casually without turning her head, "almost a week" and it surprised Michael that she was so calm about it. At last, Dumbledore spoke.

"It seems that we are coming to an end to this term, and I feel the need to give some last minute cup points out. 10 points: to Mr. Ronald Weasley for demonstrating an unmatched courage and friendship as he followed his friends into unknown dangers." The Gryffindor table cheered and began patting Ron on the back. Once the cheering died down, Dumbledore spoke again. "40 points: to Miss Hermione Granger for her unmatched rationality and decision-making while her friends were in grave danger." The table erupted again, now only 90 points behind Slytherin. "I give 50 points: to Mr. Michael Morgan for overcoming great pain and saving the life of his dear friend." Only 40 points behind Slytherin, the Gryffindor's were anxious to hear the last of Dumbledore's speech. After they had finished celebrating Michael's awarded points, Dumbledore smiled, and continued. "And lastly, 60 points: to Mr. Harry Potter. For his incomparable determination, skill, and love. If I'm not mistaken, I believe Gryffindor has just surpassed Slytherin in the standings." He clapped his hands together, and the mood in the Great Hall changed immediately. Before, there were clouds covering the ceiling, with Slytherin banners hanging from it also. Now, the ceiling was glistening with a glow like the sun, and the banners were glowing the Gryffindor colors, with the lion in the middle. Gryffindor exploded from excitement, it had been over 6 years since they had won the house cup, and Slytherin had won all of them until today. The common room was a mad-house, people casting firework charms every which way you looked. Harry, Michael, Ron and Hermione were in the middle of it all, with the House Cup on a table in the center. People were pat their backs and lifting them on their shoulders. It was a feeling the four of them had never experienced before, and they knew that their futures were definitely on the rise.

After what Michael believed to be too soon, the next day arrived, and with it his return to his house. He was looking forward to seeing his father, but he was definitely going to miss this place. He was the last to wake in his room, so he packed up all his things, and then went down to the common room to find his three friends already packed. Once he got down, they started talking about their summer breaks. "Make sure you write to me, _all_ of you, Ronald!" Hermione was pestering them to not forget her, afraid that perhaps a summer would change their friendship, but they all knew she was always going to be their friends. "We would never ignore you, 'Mione" Michael said, and it made Hermione blush a little.

"So, is anyone going anywhere over the summer holidays?" Ron asked, and Michael immediately saw Harry's mood change swifter than a shooting star flying through the night sky. Hermione talked about her taking a vacation to the states to visit some of her cousins, and then Ron admitted that he was going to be going to Romania with his brother's Fred, George, and Percy for the summer without his mum and dad. When Michael was asked, he simple shrugged his shoulders and said 'Nope'. Harry was still looking down when Michael decided it best to ask him. "How 'bout you, Harry? Are you gonna give Dudley a big scare and make them move to a new continent?" He said it jokingly, and he saw Harry smile but he continued to hold his head down.

"How about you come stay with me this summer instead? My dad will talk to your Uncle, I'm sure they won't mind."

Harry looked up in surprise, and then answered. "Oh, no that's alright. Now that I'm a wizard they probably will be too afraid to come near me."

Michael shook his head in disagreement and continued to argue, "Oh, pish-posh Harry. You know you're welcome at my house anytime, for as long as you'd like. Same goes for all of you, my dad has already let me know you are all welcome to come to my house this summer. Come on, whattaya' say Harry?"

Harry was still thinking things over, but at last he finally smiled. "Only if your dad is okay with it. The last thing I want is to intrude on your summer holidays like I did during Christmas."

A few hours past, and they were now aboard the Hogwarts Express, racing past mountains and open lands before entering the tunnel that everyone knew was the 'home-stretch' of the ride. They arrived at platform 9 and three-quarters, and they met Kevin, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, and the Grangers near the back exit of the train where they had been seated. "'Ello boys, and of course the lady Miss Granger' Kevin nodded his head up and down once and Hermione smiled and greeted him back, as did everyone else. They all walked through the wall connecting the platform with King's Cross, and sure enough, there stood Mr. Dursley. A short, large man, with slits for eyes and curled lips giving off his angry face was waiting just outside the wall. He caught eye of Harry, grabbed him by his shirt collar are began to pull him. Kevin immediately grabbed Mr. Dursley's hand and stopped him.

"And what the devil do you think _you're_ doing?" he asked. Kevin didn't remove his hand until Mr. Dursley removed his from Harry. Harry fixed himself up, and then Kevin grabbed him gently by the shoulder and pulled him over towards him. "Harry would like to stay with us for the holiday break. I assume that is alright with you judging by the way handle the poor boy already." Kevin was angry with how Harry had been treated within the few seconds that he had seen him and Mr. Dursley together, and he couldn't imagine how things were when he was living there.

"And why exactly should I let him stay with people like _you_?" he demanded, and Kevin was shocked at his statement, but tried to keep his composure.

"I'm just politely asking that we take him under our wing for the duration of the summer holiday and then he will be back at school." He was furious that this was even a topic of consideration with Mr. Dursley. But at long last, Mr. Dursley's lips pinched together and then he spoke. "Fine, take him. Maybe we'll get lucky and you'll take him in so we won't have to deal with him anymore." At that, he turned immediately and walked away. Harry was looking straight at the ground, and Kevin put his free hand on Harry's other shoulder. "Just for the record, you're welcome at my house any time. Summer, Christmas, whatever." Harry smiled, and Kevin let go of his shoulders and they headed to the car. In the car, Kevin had been asking about the Chamber and what happened, and when he heard about Voldemort attaching himself to Quirl's soul, he was surprised they had managed to get out in one piece. After what happened to his beautiful wife, to imagine two 12 year old boys had managed to finish him off by using some first year magic was hard to believe. But they had, and now they were even more famous than before, but this time; this time, it was for something they did, not something that was done to them. For the first time in young Harry and Michael's lives, they were the ones making their own marks on history.


End file.
